My Best AF settings for D7000

Agree that these are pretty much the same settings I use..

However, I want to pick your collective brains for a min if I could.

What do you guys think is the best focus mode for more than one person in say a group shot.. Using the 35mm f/1.8 prime I find that I might get stunning pin-sharp clarity and IQ on, say, the face/person on the right, but the person on the left is distinctly soft and a lil OOF... Not always this pattern, but same idea.

What do you think is the best way to make it so when there is/are >1 person in a shot; like for example a group shot, or even just two people- EVERY1 is in focus..

Also, sometimes everything seems to be fine and then there are times when I have this problem.. I just want to know if there is something I'm missing.

I mostly use AF-A/Auto, but have recently been playing with AF-C.

Any help would be app.

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Cheers,
Charlie.