Facciamo scattare le foto della cerimonia al fotografo.

Questions & Answers about Facciamo scattare le foto della cerimonia al fotografo.

Why is it al fotografo instead of just il fotografo?
This is the core rule of the fare + infinitive construction! Because the verb scattare (to take) has a direct object here (le foto), the person actually doing the action (the photographer) must be treated as an indirect object. We do this by adding the preposition a, which combines with il to make al.
Why use scattare to say take photos instead of prendere?
In Italian, you cannot use prendere (to physically take or grab) for taking pictures. You must use either scattare (to snap or shoot) or fare (to make or do). Here, using scattare is the best choice because using fare would sound very repetitive next to facciamo.
Could we put al fotografo right after scattare instead of at the end of the sentence?
Yes, you could say Facciamo scattare al fotografo le foto della cerimonia. Both are correct. However, placing the person doing the action (al fotografo) at the very end of the sentence, after the direct object, is the most common and natural-sounding word order.
How would we change this sentence to say We have HIM take the photos?
Because the photographer acts as an indirect object in this sentence, answering to whom we cause the action to happen, you must use the indirect object pronoun gli (to him). It goes right before the conjugated verb fare, making the sentence: Gli facciamo scattare le foto della cerimonia.

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