Best Portrait Settings for Nikon D3100?

I want to take stunning high depth portraits of my friends and of myself. I would like something you would see on Tumblr. -

Now some information - i have the regular Lens that came with the D3100, i'm not an experienced photographer, the only settings i have and know of for portraits is the Portrait setting on the camera.
i'm looking for more in depth settings, to change around and shutter options etc.

Ugh… I don't go to tumblr.

So borrow a couple of books and switch to Manual.

The secret of portraiture is to stand well back and focus on the eyes - shutter speed has to be high enough for the lighting conditions, but aperture depends on how you want to control your depth-of-field - that's one of the things you'll have to look up.