Photocraig

Also, with a 35mm ff equivalent, frame with some extra space at the sides and as has been said before, try to keep the people close to the center line of the frame.

Try using E.L.'s fine example as a way to get them out of the rank and file 2 deep set up, if ya can.

But, depending on the space, longer really IS better.

And WTH, try a pano if they're a well behaved group.
C
Good luck,
C

kenArchi Loc: Seal Beach, CA

Scruples, They ordered 12each 36" posters and everything was clear.
This was not to be very highly resolution kind of photo.

dsmeltz Loc: Philadelphia

If a pano is to be done with a large group a lot of images should be taken. When shooting a large group with everyone in a single frame, you probably need 3-5 images taken a couple seconds apart to make sure you have open eyes and visible faces for everyone. For a pano involving 3-4 sections, 12-20 images should give you enough to work with. That should give at least one good base shot per section and enough material for correction layers. I still prefer to get everyone in one frame and only work with the best 2 or 3 images as layers. But if you are in a tight space, a pano might be necessary.

dhellawell

I used to shoot a lot of corporate groups. All the comments are useful. I used to pose people on stairs, indoors and outdoors. Speed lights can't be too far to the side to avoid adjacent people casting shadows.
Shooting high down sometime works and creates an interesting effect. Once I arranged the camera on the tripod I used a release cable for all the exposures. If your lens is a zoom, never recompose or disturb the camera. Since the backgrounds never shifts, I stacked the best exposures in photoshop and invariably switched some faces from different exposures to get the best overall combination. I always took several exposures when people were not expecting me to. Some people seem to frown just when they think you're making the exposure. Arranging the people is the most time consuming aspect.