Question about group portraits

Single focus point or multiple?

if the group is arranged in a curved C shape, it won't matter one bit how many focus points you use.

what you really need to have a handle on is your aperture vs focal length, to give you an idea of your depth of field.

Make sure its deep enough to get the front and back rows in focus, then focus on the middle row

I would suggest using just one focus point, and pick it manually, and place it on the eye of the person CLOSEST to you. Then set the f-stop for the required depth-of-field. Use an off camera external flash and perhaps add a 2nd flash too, depending upon the width of the group. If you're shooting inside, place the camera in manual mode, flash/es in full auto. Use a tripod...I suspect you'll need a 2nd flash. Set the camera to expose the background, and the flashes will expose the foreground (group)...start with ISO 200 or 400 and go from there. Shot in raw for flexability. Take a test shot and set EC on the body for the background and EC on the flashes for foreground.

You can really only have ONE point in focus (well, one "distance" in focus) and only things that "distance" from the sensor will be in perfect focus. Single point is YOU chosing the point you want. Multi-point, the camera decides and chances are it won't pick what you want. The selected aperture then decides how much in/out of focus objects are that are NOT in the focal plane. Read up on Depth-of-field, but basically the bigger aperture (small f#) will yield less in focus around the focal plane, and conversely a smaller aperture (big f#) will yield more in focus.

Right now with my 24-70 2.8, I was planning on doing these portraits outside before noon or into the evening to hopefully reduce shadows. When I'm using a f/stop like f4.0 to f/6.0 and the light isn't bright enough for quick, sharp shutter speeds is it better to use a tripod or high ISO? I don't know about the tripod because I do want to try several different angles within quick succession...any ideas?

I like how I totally thought this was my original post lol, sorry Sere. Question still stands, but I totally wasn't trying to take over the post! Sorry!