Best angle/direction for a small solar panel

In My Humble Opinion
1

In some remote areas I have small, but pretty effective solar lights. In the winter the angle of the sun is very low, and this area in on the north side of a mountain, so there is not much light this time of year and the sun is behind trees for many hours of the day. Morning has some direct sun, the afternoon has a smaller amount, midday has no direct sun. What is the best way to point the solar panel?

The options are (as I see them):

Directly at the morning sun, which would be about 2 hours of direct light before the sun ducts behind the trees. This is a pretty steep angle (close to a vertical panel), and would not get the full benefit of indirect light from the sky, but has the benefit of snow falling off the panel.

Directly at the sky to take advantage of the indirect light but tilted in the general directly of the southern sun but higher then the sun’s path.

Other options are welcome.

2

Dawn’s early light is the weakest for direct rays because it travels a longer diagonal path through the atmosphere, losing energy along the way. But aiming at the open sky will get you little, in my experience with solar. Only direct rays make any impression.
I’d try to aim at the center of the area with direct rays.