The lens to use is the one that puts you far enough away to keep head sizes the same if you have two rows (not saying that is the arrangement you need). For 5 , you do NOT need a wide angle, so I would ditch the 28-300 as you do not need either extreme of that lens.

You want to use an aperture that ensures good focus (f8?) so any lens will do that. How much room to you have? If you have enough room from camera to subject, I would use the 80-200. Good, sharp lens and will allow you to stand far enough away to provide good perspective.

The 50 could work, but the the 80-200 at the short end will be slightly better.
Just my opinion.

Sunlight is harsh light.

Harsh light is light that has well defined shadow transitions...and sunlight (because the sun is such a small light source relatively speaking) is harsh.

Soft (pleasing) light has very gradual shadow transitions; think "overcast" where the sky is one giant softbox.

In my opinion (and I'm just a hobbyist) light and light control is just about the most important part of photography.

If you have crappy light...you don't have a photograph.


I'd suggest (before you do this shoot) investing in a book called "shooting in Sh&TTY light" by Lindsay Adler.

In it she covers all the really bad lighting situations you will find yourself in and how to solve them.

Hope that helps.

bob