Recently I was asked by one of my students at the college that I teach at, what do I do when I am not photographing a concert? Simple answer is to keep shooting. Long answer, find your own projects to work on, being photographing your pets, your partner, your neighborhood, your city, whatever you want to do.
The goal here is to constantly have your camera in your hands, that you are constantly shooting. By doing this, you are constantly learning about lighting, about your camera, what she can do and what she can’t (yes, my camera is a she…get over it), and by learning this, you will constantly be getting better in the craft that you, like me, love. If you go for walks around your city, and take your camera, and look at the world around you, how the light changes with every step that you take, how things look different as you continue to move.
For me, when I am not photographing concerts, I am working on the Living with Sam portfolio and the We Are All We Have Tonight portfolio. One is a documentary journey covering mental health, and the other is the punk rock subculture. One is digital and one is in medium format film. One is using only available light, the other is using one light modifier, which is a 5-in-1 reflector. One causes me to look at light and how it is going to affect my images, the other is how I can modify what light is available to my advantage. Both have helped me with my concert work.
So my suggest is to find a project that you can devote your time to for when you are not shooting concerts and commit to it. Not only will you learn more about what your camera can do, what light can do, but also with post production and how to edit, how you can edit, and make an image truly your own, and create a photographic identity.