picture from a group shoot i did for a friend

liked this one the most out of the set. wish i had more lights to work with but all i have is the camera. suggestions are definitely wanted, was a fun shoot and was also my first working with people. also the settings were: f3.5 , 1/40sec , ISO 800 , @ 28mm. thanks in advance for feedback and suggestions

They look out of focus. Subject background separation would eliminate shadows.

I think the reason because they are out of focus might either be your focal point is locked onto something else (I always pick a focal point manually) or it could also be because your shutter speed is kind of long for handheld stuff unless you have and IS lens. Try to shoot at a longer focal length also for shots like this at least....somewhere around 50-70 if on a cropped body and pull the subject away from the background....This will add some depth of field between your subject and the background.

Try to find a better location also but that is JMO. Composition is key to any location because the picture only shows what you captured. If there were some tall beautiful glass doors there that made the location we wouldnt know because its not in the photo (Im trying to work on this myself). Now i just take my time and even when i have a shot i think i like i will let the subject stay mostly the same then i would change my perspective and angle and take another shot, if it works it works if not then i still have the shot that i wanted....Rule of thirds is a good starting point for framing but a rule isnt a law.

Hope this helps because I still have alot to learn....My $0.0.2