thanks for your advice... actually this was on on the spot chance meeting... wish I had had my A-2 digital,,,but instead had a Nikon with slow lens which was the reason it's usually loaded with Fugi 800 film.... thanks again for the tips..
Joe, what a nice honor! Now, since I have been working as a sports team photog for over 7 years, I'm going to give you a no holds barred critique. I hope you don't mind, but if you ever do something like this again, perhaps my suggestions will help. 1st, you did a good job with the lighting considering you were in bright sun, but the results would have been better had you placed the group in the shade and then used fill flash. You would have had less grain had you used 100 or 200 film instead of 800. Also, when shooting a group with both dark and light skinned people, whenever possible, put the dark skinned folks close to the front (this will give better exposure on their faces). And last, the single most important thing in group photos is to make absolutely certain that no face or PART of a face is hidden. Once you have the group arranged take a couple of seconds and scan the group with your eyes. If any face is not completely visible just direct the appropriate people to move a bit. I get a bit bossy when arranging group shots so I make a joke out of it and tell them I used to be a Marine drill Sgt!