There's nothing wrong with just keeping things in line with the reference image for now. I do however want to note one thing about your own phrasing - you don't need to worry about getting the same exact angle. There's no points off if your angle's a little off.

Just remember that we're not reproducing the reference image precisely as it is. We're using the reference image as a source of information, and using that information to construct a similar object on the page.

Hello Cooter, Okay this is just me, but personally i think its a good idea to draw the object in a different angle than what you see, it forces you to rely on the orthographic view and not on ref, and his its expected... its actually more interesting as you really need to understand the forms.

Hope this helps