Jurufoto profesional mengambil gambar setiap kali pengantin tersenyum.

A professional photographer takes photos every time the bride and groom smile.

Breakdown of Jurufoto profesional mengambil gambar setiap kali pengantin tersenyum.

• tersenyum: to smile
• mengambil: to take
• gambar: the photo
• jurufoto: the photographer
• profesional: professional
• setiap kali: every time
• pengantin: the bride and groom

Questions & Answers about Jurufoto profesional mengambil gambar setiap kali pengantin tersenyum.

What does jurufoto literally mean? Is it related to the English word photographer?

Jurufoto is a native-style Malay formation built from:

• juru- = a prefix meaning “specialist / operator of a tool or skill”
• foto = photo (a borrowing, ultimately from photo)

So jurufoto is literally “photo-specialist”, which corresponds to photographer.

Malay also has fotografer (from English photographer), but jurufoto is very common and often sounds a bit more “Malay” or neutral in tone.

Why is profesional placed after jurufoto? In English we say professional photographer, not photographer professional.

In Malay, descriptive words (adjectives) usually come after the noun:

• jurufoto profesional = professional photographer
• rumah besar = big house
• budak nakal = naughty child

So jurufoto is the noun, and profesional is the describing word that follows it.

If you reversed it to profesional jurufoto, it would sound wrong in standard Malay.

How do I know if the sentence means “takes pictures” (present) or “took pictures” (past)?

Malay verbs usually do not change form for tense. Mengambil by itself is neutral: it can mean take/takes/took depending on context.

To make time clearer, Malay adds time words:

• tadi (earlier, just now) → Jurufoto profesional tadi mengambil gambar… = The professional photographer earlier took photos…
• semalam (last night), kelmarin (yesterday), etc.
• akan (will) → future: Jurufoto profesional akan mengambil gambar… = will take photos…
• sedang (is/are currently) → Jurufoto profesional sedang mengambil gambar… = is taking photos…

In your sentence, without extra markers, it can naturally be understood as a habit (takes) or as a narration of a past event (took), depending on the surrounding story.

What is the function of the prefix meng- in mengambil? Could I just say ambil gambar?

The root verb is ambil = take.

mengambil is ambil with the meN- verb prefix (meng- here) which:

• makes the verb sound more standard/formal
• is normal in written Malay and careful speech

So:

• mengambil gambar – standard, neutral, good in writing and formal speech
• ambil gambar – common in everyday, casual conversation

Both are grammatically possible here:

• Jurufoto profesional mengambil gambar… (more formal/neutral)
• Jurufoto profesional ambil gambar… (more colloquial)

Meaning is the same; it’s mainly a question of style and formality.

Does mengambil gambar literally mean “take picture(s)” and is it the usual way to say to photograph?

Yes. Literally:

• mengambil = to take
• gambar = picture / image

So mengambil gambar = to take (a) picture, i.e. to photograph.

Other common ways:

• ambil gambar – casual
• ambil foto / mengambil foto – using foto instead of gambar
• merakam gambar / merakam detik – more like “to record/capture an image/moment”; often a bit more formal or poetic

But mengambil gambar is very standard and widely understood.

Does gambar only mean photo, or can it mean other kinds of pictures too?

Gambar is broad. It can mean:

• a photograph
• a drawing
• a painting
• an illustration / picture in a book

Context tells you which kind. In this sentence, because there is jurufoto profesional, it’s naturally understood as photographs.

If you specifically want “photo(s)”, you can also use foto:

• mengambil foto = take photos

What exactly does setiap kali mean, and how is it used?

Setiap kali means every time or whenever.

Structure:

• setiap = every / each
• kali = time (as in “occurrence”, not clock time)

It is followed by a clause:

• setiap kali pengantin tersenyum = every time the bride/groom smiles
• setiap kali hujan turun = whenever it rains

You can place the setiap kali clause:

• After the main clause (like your sentence):
  Jurufoto profesional mengambil gambar setiap kali pengantin tersenyum.
• At the beginning (often with a comma in writing):
  Setiap kali pengantin tersenyum, jurufoto profesional mengambil gambar.

Both word orders are correct and natural.

Does pengantin mean only bride, only groom, or both?

Pengantin is a bit flexible; it can refer to:

• the bride, or
• the groom, or
• the newlywed couple (as a unit)

Context decides which one people imagine.

If you want to be specific:

• pengantin perempuan = bride (female)
• pengantin lelaki = groom (male)
• pasangan pengantin = the bridal couple

In your sentence, pengantin could be understood as either the bride or the groom (or simply “the newlywed person we’re talking about”) unless the wider context specifies.

Why is there no word like the or a before jurufoto and pengantin?

Malay generally has no articles like the, a, or an. Nouns are bare, and definiteness is understood from context.

So jurufoto profesional can be:

• a professional photographer
• the professional photographer

To make things more definite, Malay may add:

• itu (that/the): jurufoto profesional itu = that/the professional photographer
• seorang (one person / a): seorang jurufoto profesional = a professional photographer (one photographer)

Similarly:

• pengantin can be the bride, a bride, the bridegroom, etc., depending on context.

Why is tersenyum used instead of just senyum or bersenyum? What does the prefix ter- do here?

Root: senyum = smile (noun or base form).

Common verb forms:

• tersenyum – very common, feels natural and neutral in many contexts
• ber
  • senyum → bersenyum – also correct, somewhat more formal/literary
• senyum by itself – often used as a verb in casual speech

Function of ter- is complex, but with emotion/position verbs (like tersenyum, tertidur, etc.) it often implies:

• a state: “is in a smiling state / smiles”
• can sound slightly like a spontaneous or natural action

In everyday use:

• Dia tersenyum. – He/She smiles / is smiling. (very common)
• Dia bersenyum. – Also “He/She smiles,” maybe a bit more formal.
• Dia senyum. – Casual, conversational.

In your sentence, tersenyum sounds completely natural and typical.

Could I say setiap kali dia tersenyum instead of setiap kali pengantin tersenyum?

Yes:

• setiap kali pengantin tersenyum = every time the bride/groom smiles
• setiap kali dia tersenyum = every time he/she smiles

Both are correct. Differences:

• pengantin repeats the noun and keeps reminding you it’s the bride/groom.
• dia is shorter, but you must already know who dia refers to from earlier context.

You can also make pengantin more specific:

• setiap kali pengantin itu tersenyum = every time that bride/groom smiles
• setiap kali pengantin perempuan itu tersenyum = every time that bride smiles

Can I move setiap kali pengantin tersenyum to the front of the sentence?

Yes, and it’s very natural:

• Setiap kali pengantin tersenyum, jurufoto profesional mengambil gambar.

This focuses more on the condition (“Every time the bride/groom smiles…”) and then gives the result.

Both word orders are fine:

1. Jurufoto profesional mengambil gambar setiap kali pengantin tersenyum.
2. Setiap kali pengantin tersenyum, jurufoto profesional mengambil gambar.

Meaning is the same; it’s mostly a difference in emphasis and style.

Is there any indication of plural for gambar here? How do we know if it’s a photo or photos?

Malay usually doesn’t mark plural on the noun itself. Gambar can mean:

• a picture/photo
• (some) pictures/photos
• pictures/photos in general

In this sentence, because we have setiap kali (every time), it’s naturally understood that multiple photos are taken over time, even though gambar is not marked as plural.

If you really want to highlight plurality, you can say:

• banyak gambar = many pictures
• beberapa gambar = several pictures
• gambar-gambar = pictures (reduplication, often used, though not always necessary)

Example:
Jurufoto profesional mengambil banyak gambar setiap kali pengantin tersenyum.
= The professional photographer takes many photos every time the bride/groom smiles.