too many grey tones .. HELP!!

[isolated]

i'm a new photography student ... and i was all just confused when i took black and white photography it came out with lots of grey ... i kept wondering on how other people could get their black and white photo so perfectly .. do they do it by push processing ??
i know this is such a silly question .. but canu guys help ...thanks

 

[ksmattfish]

Post an example. Sounds like a contrast issue; which can be dealt with in lighting, exposure, film choice, development, and printing. Help us narrow it down.

 

[terri32 3]

It would help if we could see one of the images you're not happy with....it might have a lot to do with your exposure, or a lot to do with poor processing. You can have a good negative but still a flat, nasty gray print if it's developed poorly.

 

[terri32 3]

Dammit, Matt, we're posting at the same time too much!

 

[markc]

And posting an example of what you are going for would be helpful, too. Some people like really high contrast or other things that might not be the "norm".