Var vi än är tar hon fram kameran när någon börjar le.

Here än is part of a fixed pattern that means ever or no matter in English.

So:

• Var vi än är = wherever we are / no matter where we are

This is different from the very common än meaning than in comparisons:

• större än = bigger than

In this sentence, än is not comparative. It helps create the wherever / however / whoever type of meaning.

Examples:

• Vad du än säger = whatever you say
• Vem det än är = whoever it is
• Hur sent det än är = no matter how late it is

Because in Swedish, indirect or subordinate-style clause order is used inside this wh-ever + än construction.

Compare:

• direct question: Var är vi? = Where are we?
• embedded meaning: var vi är = where we are
• fixed expression: Var vi än är = wherever we are

So even though var looks like the start of a question, this is not a normal question. It is a clause meaning wherever we are, so Swedish uses vi är, not är vi.

Yes. It is a standard and natural written and spoken pattern.

Other ways exist, but X ... än ... is very common and useful. For a learner, it is worth recognizing as a whole structure.

Related patterns:

• var vi än är = wherever we are
• vem du än frågar = whoever you ask
• hur det än går = however it goes / no matter how it goes
• vad som än händer = whatever happens

So it is best to learn ... än ... as a grammar pattern, not just as a single word.

Because Swedish follows the V2 rule in main clauses: the finite verb usually comes in the second position.

The sentence begins with the clause:

• Var vi än är

That whole clause takes the first position. So in the main clause, the finite verb must come next:

• Var vi än är | tar | hon fram kameran ...

That is why you get:

• Var vi än är tar hon fram kameran ...

and not:

• Var vi än är hon tar fram kameran ...

This is very typical Swedish word order after a fronted phrase or clause.

Compare:

• I dag tar hon fram kameran.
• När vi kommer hem lagar han mat.
• Om det regnar stannar vi inne.

Ta fram is a verb + particle combination. In this sentence it means something like:

• take out
• bring out
• get out

So:

• tar fram kameran = takes out the camera

Very literally:

• ta = take
• fram = forward / out

But you should learn ta fram as a unit, because the meaning is more natural that way.

Examples:

• Hon tar fram nycklarna. = She takes out the keys.
• Kan du ta fram kartan? = Can you get out the map?

Because Swedish often uses the definite form when English might say the or sometimes even leave it less specific.

• kameran = the camera

In this sentence, the idea is that she takes out the camera—probably her camera, the one relevant in the situation. Swedish commonly uses the definite form for familiar or contextually understood things.

Compare:

• Hon tog fram boken. = She took out the book.
• Han öppnade dörren. = He opened the door.

Using en kamera would sound more like a camera, introducing it as indefinite rather than the known one she has with her.

Någon means someone or anyone, depending on context.

Here:

• när någon börjar le = when someone starts to smile

It refers to any person at all in that situation, not a specific named person.

Related forms:

• någon = someone / anyone
• något = something / anything
• några = some / a few / any

Examples:

• Någon ringer. = Someone is calling.
• Om någon frågar ... = If anyone asks ...
• Har du något att äta? = Do you have anything to eat?

In Swedish, börja is commonly followed directly by an infinitive:

• börja le = start to smile
• börja prata = start talking / begin to speak

So att is usually not needed here.

Examples:

• Barnet började gråta. = The child started crying.
• Hon började skratta. = She started laughing.

You may sometimes see other patterns with börja, such as börja med att ..., but in a simple structure like this, börja + infinitive is the normal choice.

Le is the infinitive verb meaning to smile.

Forms:

• le = to smile
• ler = smile / is smiling
• log = smiled
• lett = smiled

In the sentence:

• någon börjar le = someone begins to smile

A common learner point: le is the infinitive, even though it is very short.

Examples:

• Hon ler ofta. = She smiles often.
• De log mot varandra. = They smiled at each other.

Because Swedish often uses the present tense for habitual or general behavior.

This sentence is not just about one single moment. It describes what she typically does:

• wherever they are,
• when someone starts smiling,
• she takes out the camera.

So present tense works naturally:

• är
• tar
• börjar

English often does something similar:

• Whenever someone smiles, she takes out the camera.

There are three parts:

1. Var vi än är
   = wherever we are

2. tar hon fram kameran
   = she takes out the camera

3. när någon börjar le
   = when someone starts to smile

So the structure is roughly:

• [Wherever we are] [she takes out the camera] [when someone starts to smile].

The main clause is:

• tar hon fram kameran

The other two are dependent clauses giving the circumstances.

Yes. This is standard subordinate clause word order.

• när = when
• någon = someone
• börjar = begins
• le = to smile

So:

• när någon börjar le = when someone starts to smile

Nothing unusual is happening there. It is a straightforward time clause.

Compare:

• när hon kommer = when she comes
• när barnen somnar = when the children fall asleep
• när vi är hemma = when we are at home

Yes, you might sometimes see commas used to separate clauses for clarity, especially in longer sentences:

• Var vi än är, tar hon fram kameran när någon börjar le.

But Swedish often uses fewer commas than English, so leaving it without a comma is also normal:

• Var vi än är tar hon fram kameran när någon börjar le.

So the version you were given is perfectly natural.

Yes, and that is a very good learning strategy.

Treat Var vi än är as a set phrase meaning:

• wherever we are
• no matter where we are

Then later you can build similar chunks:

• Vad du än gör = whatever you do
• Hur trött hon än är = no matter how tired she is
• Vem det än gäller = whoever it concerns

Learning this as a pattern will make sentences like this much easier to understand and produce.