Could anyone offer some suggestions for modeling from a reference photo?

I am blown away by the head morphs by idler168, Thorne, sarsa, Blackhearted, etc...!  And, I assume they are all modeled using photographs.

From what I can understand, I could:

• import V3 head into my modeler (I'm using Hexagon and Anim8tor)

• place a front and side image of the head I want to model along the back and side of the V3 head

• push and pull points, edges, and faces until I get the wireframe to look like the photo

• use "elfen magic" to transfer the same head morph from V3 to A3

At least, that's how it all works in my mind.  Inside the modeler, I don't seem to have the same level of control over the wireframe as I do in my imagination.

Any suggestions?