A lack of daylight

About this time of year I start to realise that I am not designed to be a nocturnal animal and the shortage of natural daylight starts to be a nuisance. Never more so than now when I am trying to grow my fledgling pattern design business. Photography is an area that I am keen to improve upon and everything I read emphasises the importance of natural light.

All well and good until you consider that my day job has me leaving the house at 8:20 (school run before driving to work) and arriving home after 5pm. The hours of available daylight for photography purposes at home are condensed into a 20 minute slot between 8:00 and 8:20 and not surprisingly lost trousers and missed homework is often higher on my to-do list at that time in the morning.

I have tried carefully assembling my subject matter the night before so that all I have to do is grab my camera and take a few shots (whilst telling a small child to brush their teeth - again) but the general morning chaos isn't really conducive to calm, unhurried work.

My latest cunning plan is to take the photographic subject with me in the car. Arranged on a tea tray - passengers in my car must think I am very odd - and with the car parked in a suitable spot at work I can take advantage of the last hour or two of daylight and do my best to get some good shots.

I found some good tips here and here.

And there are some great "what not to do" tips by A Beautiful Mess here.

It is a constant struggle though and I would welcome suggestions on how you do it. What tips and tricks can you share to help us make the most of those precious daylight hours?