Hello Marvin, and thanks for your reply.
I agree that just copying is not enough - though for most of us, it is where we must start to understand how to replicate the form in truth. I think that as skill progresses in representing what we see, then consideration can be given into "how" we choose to translate what we are seeing - considering as you say, the form in space and composition.
I like the idea of having a photograph and the live model there to compare. What a great tool to teach the shortcomings of photographs and how to interpret them.