Learn Hardcore Russian: Я смотрю на фото.

depending entirely on context. If you need to be explicit, you add other words, e.g. это фото (this photo), то фото (that photo), моё фото (my photo).

Can I drop я and just say Смотрю на фото?

Yes, you can.

Because Russian verb endings already show the person, Смотрю на фото is still clearly I am looking at the photo. Omitting я:

sounds a bit more informal, elliptical, “note-like” (e.g. in a message or diary)
is very common in speech when the subject is obvious from context

Я смотрю на фото is the full, neutral sentence. Смотрю на фото is fine, but feels slightly more conversational or stylistic.

What is the difference between смотреть and видеть here?

смотреть (на) = to look (at), to watch – an intentional action.
- Я смотрю на фото. – I actively direct my eyes at the photo.
видеть = to see – a result/perception.
- Я вижу фото. – I see a photo (it is visible to me).

So Я смотрю на фото emphasizes the action of looking, not just the fact that the photo is visible.

Why do we need the preposition на? Can I say Я смотрю фото?

With смотреть, Russian distinguishes:

смотреть на + accusative = to look at something (direction of gaze)
- Я смотрю на фото. – I look at the photo.
смотреть + direct object (accusative) = to watch / view something as content
- Я смотрю фильм. – I’m watching a movie.
- Я смотрю телевизор. – I’m watching TV.

With фото, the usual everyday way to say look at the photo is смотреть на фото.
Смотреть фото is also possible, but it usually suggests viewing photos more generally (e.g. going through a set of pictures) rather than just staring at one.

What case is фото in, and why doesn’t it change?

Grammatically, фото here is in the accusative case (it’s the direct object of смотрю and governed by на).

However, фото is an indeclinable noun (a short form from фотография). It:

does not change its form in different cases
is neuter in gender

So:

фото (nominative) – the photo
на фото (accusative or prepositional, depending on context) – on/at the photo
о фото (prepositional) – about the photo

All look the same in writing: фото.

What is the difference between фото and фотография / фотографию?

Фото is a short, colloquial form; фотография is the full word.

Я смотрю на фото. – I’m looking at the photo. (very common, informal/neutral)
Я смотрю на фотографию. – same meaning, a bit more formal or explicit.

You’ll hear фото very often in everyday speech, in media, online, etc.
Фотографию may sound slightly more “bookish” or careful, but it’s completely normal.

Why does на take the accusative here, when I learned that на often takes the prepositional case?

The preposition на can take accusative or prepositional, depending on the verb and meaning:

Location (where?) → usually prepositional
- Книга на столе. – The book is on the table.
Direction (onto where?) → usually accusative
- Я кладу книгу на стол. – I put the book on the table.
With certain verbs, на is fixed with accusative, often indicating direction of an action (like gaze, attack, hope, etc.):
- смотреть на что? – to look at something
- надеяться на что? – to hope for something

Смотреть на always takes the accusative, so на фото here is accusative by rule of the verb, even though фото itself doesn’t change form.

Can на фото also mean in the photo rather than at the photo?

Yes, на фото can mean:

on/in the photo (what is depicted) – with verbs like быть (to be), виден (visible), etc.:
- На фото он улыбается. – In the photo, he is smiling.
at the photo (object of my gaze) – with смотреть на:
- Я смотрю на фото. – I’m looking at the photo.

Grammatically, those на фото phrases use different cases (prepositional vs accusative), but the form is identical because фото is indeclinable. The meaning is determined by the verb and the rest of the sentence.

Can I change the word order, for example На фото я смотрю or Я на фото смотрю?

Word order is more flexible in Russian than in English, but it affects meaning and emphasis.

Я смотрю на фото. – Neutral: I am looking at the photo.
Смотрю на фото. – Same meaning, subject я implied; informal/elliptical.
На фото я смотрю в камеру. – Now на фото attaches to я смотрю as a location phrase:
- In the photo, I am looking into the camera.
  This no longer means “I’m looking at the photo”; it’s talking about what is happening in the picture.
Я на фото смотрю в камеру. – Also “In the photo, I am looking into the camera,” with a slightly different emphasis.

So you can reorder, but Я смотрю на фото (or Смотрю на фото) is the normal way to express “I am looking at the photo.”

What is the aspect of смотрю, and how would I say I looked at the photo or I will look at the photo?

Смотрю is the imperfective present form of смотреть.

Aspect pair:

смотреть (imperfective) – to look, to be looking (process)
посмотреть (perfective) – to look (once / to have a look, completed action)

Typical forms with на фото:

Я смотрю на фото. – I am looking at the photo.
Я посмотрел на фото. – I looked at the photo / I have looked at the photo (completed, past).
Я посмотрю на фото. – I will look at the photo (completed, in the future).

In Russian, present tense of perfective (e.g. посмотрю) usually has future meaning.

Is фото singular or plural here?

Formally, фото is singular neuter here.

However, in modern Russian фото is often used for both:

one photo
multiple photos (especially in contexts like показать фото, смотреть фото).

Number is usually clear from context or from adjectives:

старое фото – an old photo (singular)
старые фото – old photos (plural)

In Я смотрю на фото, without extra context, most people will picture a single photo, but it could be interpreted more generally as I’m looking at (some) photos.

How do you pronounce Я смотрю на фото?

Approximate pronunciation with stress:

Я смотрю на фото → ya smat-RYOO na FO-ta

More precisely (IPA, in careful speech):

Я – [ja] (often closer to [jɪ] in fast speech)
смотрю – [smɐˈtrʲu] (stress on -рю)
на – [na]
фото – [ˈfotə] (stress on фо, final -о reduced toward [ə])

So the rhythmic pattern is:
я смотРЮ на ФОто.