abigayle wrote:
99% of my pictures are of domestic animals such as dogs, cats and various small critters. right now with the 55mm i feel like i have to get extremely close to what im photographing which makes it more difficult because it distracts the animal and i get photos i dont really want. So id like a lens that would work better from a little further away.
I'm not a Canon user, so can't advise on specific products.
Consider that with a 55mm focal length, if you are getting the framing you like at 2 feet, or 5 or whatever, a 110mm focal length will allow the same framing at twice the distance. From that you can judge the focal length you need to get the distance you'd like.
Consider getting a zoom lens. But there is a bit of a three way divide on what is available. First, there is the "superzoom". Lets say 28-300mm, or a 10X zoom range. Sounds great... and it might be, or might not be. A 10X zoom range means it won't be corrected well, in many ways. Probably the long end will be both soft and have an aperture that is small (large fstop number). Lots of people just don't have a problem with that, and just as many won't even think of using one! Your choice. If most of what you do is outdoors in good light, and if you aren't planning to exhibit your work as a 16x20 in an art gallery, a superzoom might be just the ticket!
The other two division are those zooms with lower range. Two very nice zooms are 24-105 or 24-70, and then there are the longer zooms of 70-300mm and 70-200mm. Those with f/2.8 apertures are extremely nice, and expensive too. But you'd need either two of them or to make a decision as two whether a shorter or longer range would be the best fit. (I shoot Nikon, and typically use either a 24-120mm f/4 or a 70-200mm f/2.8.)
Another consideration is to just use a fixed focal length as opposed to a zoom. Most of the discussion you'll see on that is pure nonsense! People say you should "zoom with your feet", but that is a myth that does not work. When making a shot, you first want to decide the perspective. That means you move around (work the scene) and choose the place that best presents your subject. Move to the left, the right, closer and farther; choose when the subject's size and place in the scene is what you want. When you find that spot, park your feet there and don't move! From that parked location, choose the focal length that frames the subject the way you want. You might want to frame a little loose, because you can edit it a little later on. But the perspective is determined by the location, not the focal length, and cannot be changed by later editing!
Hence either a moderate range zoom (up to 5x) or a superzoom would seem to be the most likely choices to suit your needs.