Tips for outdoor family portraits?

So in the future I'm interested in taking pictures for families, or photo shoots for people outdoors. I need some starter tips and info. I have a Nikon d3200 (I realize this has a cropped sensor) I also own a 18-200mm lens but based on research I have done, I think the 50mm f/1.8 lens would be much sharper and produce better looking pictures.

Any tips or heads ups to do with lenses, lighting, or starting up a small side job business for this? Thanks!

*Also, I'm still a high school student so I'm saving for university so I don't want to spend lots of money of fancy equipment.

Flower bed in the background can look beautiful, just buy a few pots of flowers and plant them. Also make sure the weathers nice. I would recommend doing the photo at noon when there are less shadows and brighter sunshine. Also remember to wear light clothes and SMILE

50mm would be ok for portraits, what you have now eil serve you better for groups. What you need now is not fancy equipment, but knowledge of how to build a group, pose hands and use light.

No matter what lens you use, it will be at its sharpest when stopped two stops down from wide open.

Unless you plan on standing across the yard to photograph families (groups), then you will want to use your fine 18-200 mm at about 35-40 mm.

EDIT:

Since you are shooting outdoors, you need to either place the people in the shade or use a flash to fill in the harsh shadows that full sun produces. If you shoot in the shade, remember to set the white balance to shade or the images will be too blue, unless of course you shoot in RAW. RAW allows processing after the image is copied to the computer.