Best lens for indoor mannequin shots

dee99

I am taking indoor photos of clothing on a mannequin. I have plenty of room and the lighting is pretty good.
I have a Nikon D3100 with the kit lens and have taken some decent photos thus far, but they could be a lot better (I am also having issues with the kit lens now). I wanted to know which lens might be more appropriate for the job? I do full body shots and some close up.
I am on a budget right now, but would like to know which lens to set my sights on.
Any info or advice would be great.

Dee

ohyeahar

You can't go wrong with the Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 35mm f/1.8G DX at around $200. What kind of issues are you having with the 18-55mm? If there's sufficient lighting, the kit lens is actually quite nice.
What you gain with the 35mm is the larger aperture of f/1.8 which is 3 stops better than your kit lens at 35mm (f/5). You'll get a shallower depth of field with nicely blurred backgrounds.