Digital BW, The Print

I had hoped to use Polaroid's type 55 film to help me understand 
portrait lighting.  I have never really done these in a serious way and 
hoped to use the positive of the film to see the changes immediately as 
I changed the lighting.

The problem is that the contrast of the positive is drastically 
different from the contrast of the negative or any negative film that I 
shoot.  So what is in the deep shadows on the positive is barely in the 
shadows on the negative.

I thought polaroid film was used for proofing all the time -- is type 
55 wrong for proofing, do people compensate in printing, or was I just 
off base to start with.

Thanks,


--
Kevin Gulstene