Prom Photoshoot tips?

I have never been paid to take portraits before, and a friend asked me to take their pictures for prom tomorrow! But I have no idea what to do because I don't have any experience… Any tips?

I also need to know what poses are best, like classic ones that are a definite must.

Also, what setting is best for a camera during portraits like that(manual, automatic, etc… I have a Nikon D50)?

ANyways, any tips are appreciated! I don't know ANYTHING

Added (1). Thanks for the tips guys. And about not having any experience, here's the deal: I do have experience with Manual, I'm very familiar with a camera, but what I mean by having no experience is just having people in shots… I usually only take scenery. So I was being a little dramatic by saying I don't know anything… So I guess what I'm really asking is what are some equipment that are recommended for portraits? And what are some fun poses?

Added (2). And their expectations aren't too high, and the pay is low. They just don't have access to a nicer camera, so they don't expect them to be perfect, just to look nicer than their mom's phone camera

They did not give you much notice

Here is what you need in the way of equipment

* a background stand and background
* two studio flash units, one key and one fill
* some softboxes to create "wrap around" lighting
* a portrait lens like a 50 mm f/1.8 lens mounted on a cropped frame digital SLR
* some order forms
* an assistant to write down the file number of each student you photograph (this goes on the form)
* your camera settings will be based upon how much light is being used.
* shoot with your camera in the manual mode
* The shutter speed will be 1/250th second in order to sync the flash with the cameras shutter.
* You will need to set the white balance to flash. You will want to shoot in RAW (processing in Lightroom later) and at ISO 200.
* have the person turn their shoulder slightly toward the camera, move their forehead and chin slightly toward the camera.
* the best smiles are created when a person laughs.
* have the person look directly into the camera lens.

Your friend needs to learn all about the five "P's"

Poor Prior Planing Produces Problems

He should have already interviewed three or four local photographers who shoot portraits for a living and have all the necessary equipment and skills.

Now you are stuck with his problem and you may get a lot of flack later if your photos are not up to someone else's standards, not knowing anything but owning a fully adjustable camera

If you do NOT have the necessary equipment, you need to decline the offer.

I hope you do know enough to charge a shooting fee of $350 for the event and are selling individual prints to the students or collecting for the prints at the event. There's a huge side of photography that neither you nor your friend knows… The business of running a successful photo service

Fhotoace gave you the long answer, (and a good one). I will give the short answer. It is beyond me WHY people accept some kind of photo job for which they are totally unprepared and unskilled to do. We see it all the time on this forum. You need to swallow your ego and learn to say NO to such requests. You need to keep in mind that the request is being made by someone who has NO CLUE what a person should be bringing to the table to do this properly. Your "friend" is not doing you any favors. Most likely, he wants someone who is going to charge little to nothing to do it, and these people typically always get the poor results for which they "paid".

As it is probably too late to get a proper photographer, and as you don't know "ANYTHING", I suggest you just keep the camera in P mode, which stands for PRAY, and hope for the best.

I'll give you an even shorter answer.

Why on earth are you accepting paid jobs when you clearly haven't got a clue about photography?

You don't have enough gear (the D50 is fine, but you haven't mentioned lenses/lighting) and if you have to ask what settings you obviously know nothing about exposure or reading a light meter.

"And their expectations aren't too high, and the pay is low. They just don't have access to a nicer camera, so they don't expect them to be perfect, just to look nicer than their mom's phone camera." Are they not aware that the camera doesn't matter, but the skill of the photographer? Probably not in this day and age where everyone thinks that all you need is a "better camera."

If you honestly don't think this will come back to haunt you, then go ahead. I have done that before, but since portraits are NOT my specialty, I always recommend to my friends to find a professional who specializes in that. I do not want to ruin these once in a life time moments for them. But, you get what you pay for!