Drawing from a photo, an inner struggle - help!

So I have been struggling with this topic for my own drawings for a while now. I would admit to being ok when it comes to drawing and having an eye for shading etc, but I always start to have doubts when it comes to jobs of scaling up a photo, for instance. (I work with pencils)

It's like I feel guilty for using a grid system to transfer over a general silhouette/outline of the subject. I dont have to use grids to copy photos in a 1:1 way so it feels terrible, sometimes shameful to do it in this way. It's like I'm somehow cheating everyone who gives me praise by taking shortcuts and I imagine they would go "Oh.. so you didn't actually draw this freehand?" when they find out.

Am I just being paranoid and nutty in regards to this or should I just try to embrace the idea that for certain tasks using a grid to get the scale right can be a necessary evil? Anyone else with a similar experience and if so, how have you worked past it?

Examples: Bird - Freehand * Hunter - Grid WIP