Learn Italian: Posizioneresti il faro per questa posa? - Would you position the spotlight for this pose?

No, posizioneresti is actually the present conditional, meaning "would you position." It uses the same stem as the future tense (posizioner-), which might be why it looks familiar right now, but it has the conditional ending -esti for the tu (you) form. If it were the future perfect, it would be avrai posizionato (you will have positioned).

How can I easily tell the difference between the future tense and the conditional for this verb?

They share the same base, which changes the -are of posizionare to -er- (making posizioner-). To say "you will position" (future), you add -ai to get posizionerai. To say "you would position" (conditional), you add -esti to get posizioneresti.

Does faro always mean "spotlight"?

It has a few related meanings depending on the context. In a photography or theater setting like this sentence, it means "spotlight." On a coastline, it means "lighthouse," and on a car, it means "headlight." They all share the core idea of a strong, directional beam of light.

Why use the preposition per here?