Just as a follow-up to this discussion…
I was asked to take the group photo again this year, and your tips were very helpful, @jamesstaddon! I was so worried about the technical details last year that I really overlooked the “big picture” (pardon the pun). 🙂
This year I hardly even bothered with the exposure and focus, I just set it quickly, then spent most of the time getting the group arranged into a more pleasing arrangement, (and I’m very glad I did). It’s still not perfect, but in my estimation it’s a very definite improvement over last year’s photo in that regard, so I guess I’m happy. 🙂
