Shooting techniques

Position yourself and your camera. If you're using a tripod, make sure it's stable and level. If the tripod has a spirit level, check it. If you're going to be panning and/or tilting, make sure that you'll be comfortably positioned throughout the whole move. You don't want to start a pan, then realize you can't reach around far enough to get the end of it. If it's going to be difficult, you're better off finding the position which is most comfortable at the end of the move, so that you start in the more awkward position and become more comfortable as you complete the move. 

If you're not using a tripod, stabilize yourself and your camera as best you can. Keep your arms and elbows close to your body. Breathe steadily. For static shots, place your feet at shoulder width , or try bracing yourself against some solid object.

Frame your shot. Then do a quick mental check: white balance; focus; iris; framing (vertical and horizontal lines, background, etc. 

Think about your audio. Audio is just as important as vision, so don't forget about it.

Press record. Once you're recording, make sure that you are actually recording. There's no worse frustration than realizing that you were accidentally recording all the time you were setting the shot up, then stopped recording when you thought you were starting.

Use both eyes. A valuable skill is the ability to use one eye to look through the viewfinder, and the other eye to watch your surroundings. It takes a while to get used to it, but it means that you can walk around while shooting without tripping over, as well as keeping an eye out for where the action is happening. It's also easier on your eyes during long shoots.

Keep thinking about framing and audio. As long as you're recording, think about how the frame composition is changing, and what's happening to the sound.

Press "record stop" before moving. Just as in still photography, you should wait until one second after you've finished recording  before you move. Too many home videos end every shot with a jerky movement as the operator hits the stop button.

Be diplomatic while shooting. Think about the people you're shooting. Remember that people are often uncomfortable about being filmed, so try to be discreet and unobtrusive for example, you might want to position yourself some distance from the subjects and zoom in on them, rather than being in their faces.

Many people find the red recording light on the camera intimidating, and freeze whenever they see it. Try covering the light with a piece of tape to alleviate this problem.