Whats best lense for full figure shooting?

Hi there, going to be shooting xmas party photos for my work, head to toe photos with a decently lit background. (no im not a pro, they just need a volunteer)

I only have a tamron 18-270mm lens, but have the funds to buy another lens.

Whats best recommended for full firgure shooting???

OR, what setting should i use for my current setup (canon 60D) with the tamron lens to maximize the sharpness from head to toe?

It seems like background separation is a non issue so just stop down. Perhaps an off camera flash is a better purchase.

You might want to add a flash to the mix, like a canon or sigma 530. use a bounce card, or small softbox.. get the flash and try some seetings like f5.6, ss 125, 60th. iso 100-400.
try the green box dail on the camera and shoot flash unit on camera and bounce up 45 degree. white card with rubber band on flash for bounce..

test it out before you go to work..
Joe

Lighting and possibly a decent background is definitely your first need. The lens you have should be fine.

Whats wrong with the Tamron?

Or you can go with a yn-560 flash and umbrella. The flash is manual so your going to need to adjust the power but once is set you can just take pictures and its going to stay at the same exposure.

Make sure you do not take the photo standing up - crouch so that you avoid the perspective distortion

smorter wrote in post #13512011
Make sure you do not take the photo standing up - crouch so that you avoid the perspective distortion

forgive my ignorance, what is perspective distortion?

themadman wrote in post #13511802
Whats wrong with the Tamron?

the tamron is giving me the nose in the hole feeling, even at 18mm (aspc magnified)
i seem too far away for the subject, obvious correction is to zoom in, however i cant get the shot that a wide angle would provide.

Wow, what fast response, this is a kick-ass forum.

I should elaborate a bit on my dilemma:

1. the problem im having with full figure shooting is that I focus in on the subjects face (using program mode) and everthing else is out of focus ie: clothes. shoes, etc.

2. when shooting in aperture priority, im 2 stops from the smallest aperture on the tamron, which allows a fast shutter speed, however the focus is still attained to whatever is in the center of the reticle. How can i tell the camera to focus on the entire figure?

OSOQWK wrote in post #13512340
Wow, what fast response, this is a kick-ass forum.

I should elaborate a bit on my dilemma:

1. the problem im having with full figure shooting is that I focus in on the subjects face (using program mode) and everthing else is out of focus ie: clothes. shoes, etc.

2. when shooting in aperture priority, im 2 stops from the smallest aperture on the tamron, which allows a fast shutter speed, however the focus is still attained to whatever is in the center of the reticle. How can i tell the camera to focus on the entire figure?

Stop down.
Use bounced or diffused flash; forget about shutter speed. If your flash is too weak, increase ISO.

Perspective distortion is what happens when you stand too close. To use an extreme case to make a point - i you are so close that the subject's nose is half the distance away that his/her ears are, it'll look twice as big as it should in comparison.

Move back; zoom in, although if you are inside, you may have to take what you can get.

A flash is essential! If you have money after that maybe a Tamron 17-50 2.8 or sigma 17-50OS

It[S LENS not LENSE.

wfarrell4 wrote in post #13512679
It[S LENS not LENSE.

It's, It's NOT It[S

Nick_Reading.UK wrote in post #13512693
It's, It's NOT It[S

****, I'm on my phone.