[Faye]

Faye, the primary important factor here is Depth of Field, as you have quite a distance between the nearest and furthest people. This requires that you use a small aperture (i.e. a big f stop number), so use Aperture Priority Mode and set e.g. f/11. A lens in the standard range (40 to 60mm) should give a natural field of view on a full-frame camera such as your Canon 5D, while not making the furthest people look too small. A prime 50mm lens wouild be best , as the sharpness at the edge of the frame is usually better than it is with a zoom lens. As Ed has written, start with the ISO at 800, but check that the indicated shutter speed is at least 1/60 of a second. If it is slower than that, increase the ISO - on the 5D you should be able to go up to 3200 if necessary, and still get acceptable shots.

Cheers.
Philip

Thanks Phillip. I'll try this out on Tues, when the group next meets.