Quiero hacer una foto del castillo desde el mirador.

In Spanish, hacer una foto is a very common way to say to take a photo.

• hacer = to do/make
• hacer una foto = to take a photo

In Spain, you will also hear:

• sacar una foto in some regions
• tomar una foto, but this sounds more common in Latin America than in Spain
• fotografiar = to photograph, which is correct but sounds more formal or specific

So Quiero hacer una foto... is very natural everyday Spanish.

Because foto is short for fotografía, which is a feminine noun.

So even though foto ends in -o, it is still feminine:

• una foto
• la foto
• esta foto

This is a good example of why you cannot always rely only on the ending of a word to know its gender.

Because de + el contracts to del in Spanish.

So:

• de + el castillo → del castillo

This contraction is mandatory in normal Spanish.

Compare:

• la puerta del castillo = the castle’s door / the door of the castle
• una foto del castillo = a photo of the castle

The main exception is when El is actually part of a proper name, such as El Escorial. Then you keep it:

• de El Escorial

Desde el mirador means from the viewpoint / from the lookout point.

Here:

• desde = from
• el mirador = the viewpoint, the lookout, or the viewing platform

It tells you the place where the speaker will be when taking the photo.

So the sentence means the photo will be taken from the viewpoint, not that the viewpoint is in the photo.

Not if you want the same meaning.

• desde el mirador = from the viewpoint → the photo is taken from that location
• en el mirador = at/on the viewpoint → possible in some contexts, but it focuses more on being there rather than the idea of the shot coming from that position
• de el mirador / del mirador = of the viewpoint → that would mean the viewpoint is what the photo is of, or it is related to it

So if you mean I want to take a photo of the castle from the viewpoint, desde is the best choice.

Because querer is followed by an infinitive when you want to say want to do something.

Structure:

• querer + infinitive

Examples:

• Quiero comer = I want to eat
• Quiero ir = I want to go
• Quiero hacer una foto = I want to take a photo

So:

• quiero = I want
• hacer = to take/make
• together: I want to take

Because the personal a is mainly used before people and sometimes pets or very personified beings, not before things like castles.

So:

• Veo el castillo = I see the castle
• Fotografío el castillo = I photograph the castle

But:

• Veo a María
• Quiero visitar a mis abuelos

Since castillo is an object, not a person, there is no personal a.

Yes, mirador is a very common word in Spain.

A mirador is a place designed for looking out over scenery, such as:

• a scenic viewpoint in the mountains
• a terrace overlooking a city
• a lookout point near a monument

In Spain, you will often see signs for miradores in tourist areas, coastal roads, mountain routes, and historic cities.

Because in Spanish, the most natural order is:

• noun first: una foto
• then the complement with de: del castillo

So literally it is:

• a photo of the castle

This works very much like English.

Other similar examples:

• una imagen de la plaza
• una postal de la ciudad
• una vista del río

Yes, depending on the region and speaker, that can also be understood and sound natural. But for Spain specifically, hacer una foto is especially common and safe.

Very roughly:

• hacer una foto → very natural in Spain
• sacar una foto → also used, but regional
• tomar una foto → more associated with Latin America
• hacer una fotografía → a bit more formal than hacer una foto

If you are learning Spanish from Spain, hacer una foto is an excellent choice.

The articles show the gender:

• el mirador → masculine
• una foto → feminine
• el castillo → masculine

In this sentence:

• mirador is masculine, which fits its -or ending
• castillo is masculine, which fits its -o ending
• foto is feminine because it comes from fotografía

So the articles are:

• una foto
• del castillo
• el mirador

Learning the noun together with its article is the best habit:

• la foto
• el castillo
• el mirador

In this context, it clearly means take a photo.

Even though hacer often means to make or to do, fixed expressions do not always translate word-for-word. Here, Spanish uses hacer in the same way English uses take in take a photo, even though you are not literally taking anything.

So it is best to learn hacer una foto as a set expression.

Yes. That is also grammatical.

Moving Desde el mirador to the front changes the emphasis slightly:

• Quiero hacer una foto del castillo desde el mirador → neutral, natural flow
• Desde el mirador, quiero hacer una foto del castillo → puts more focus on the location

Spanish word order is fairly flexible, especially with phrases like desde el mirador, as long as the meaning stays clear.