You've finally bought yourself a camcorder and are ready to record any and every family event possible. Before you become the official family videographer, here are some tips to make sure every video you shoot is of the finest caliber.

1. Read the Manual

We get it, you don't read instruction books. You can put together puzzles without ever looking at the picture on the box. You "never" read the manual for your Blu-ray player, digital camera, or television and those work perfectly why should you start reading the manual for something as simple as your camcorder?

Camcorder manuals can give you a lot of insight on how your camcorder works. That actually will come handy when it comes time to use it. Sure, you can just press the record button and shoot videos, but those videos will probably look a whole lot better if you know how to white balance your camcorder properly and what kind of scene settings and manual options are available to you. You don't have to read the whole thing, but at least skimming through the features section (and maybe keeping the manual in your camcorder bag for reference) can improve the quality of your videos.

2. Take it out for a test run

Remember those manual options and scene settings we were just talking about? The ones you're going to read about in your manual? It's always a good idea to try all of those out (and watch the results) before you pull your camcorder out to shoot something important. For instance, you don't want your daughter's high school graduation to be the first time you use the indoor setting. Take a few minutes and record some video inside your house in normal lighting, with the lights off, and outside to get a feel for what the video if going to look like, and what you can do to improve it.

3. Buy a Tripod

Even if you're the stillest person on the planet, you still move up and down ever so slightly when you breathe, and if you're holding a camcorder in your hand chances are your hand is also going to move up and down a little bit as well.

While a little shaking when you're shooting a short event can be fine, when it comes to recording longer things like basketball games, graduations, and band concerts they can start to look a bit like a roller coaster ride if you're trying to record everything handheld, and can be nauseating for an audience to watch come playback time. Buying a tripod, and more importantly using it can make your videos look dramatically better.

When you're recording something like a school play or concert try to get to the event early and secure a place in the rear or off to the side where you'll be able to set up your tripod and not obstruct the view of others. Shooting from a tripod can also allow you to take a set and enjoy the event while the recording is going on. Watchable video and you get to sit down? Sounds like a win-win situation for everyone!

4. Keep Your Zooming to a Minimum

Much like shooting a video handheld for too long, zooming in and out excessively while recording a video can make the entire experience nauseating for your viewers. Since no one likes it when grandma vomits in the livingroom, if you need to zoom in on a particular action try to do so sparingly.

For things like sports, where the action is constantly changing it's often better to go for a medium shot that has a few players at a time rather than zoom in on an individual or a ball that will very quickly move out of the frame. The same rule can also apply for school plays, concerts and the like. If the action is always changing, then you want to frame your shot in such a way that you'll always catch everything that is going on. If you're zoomed in on an actor on the left hand side of the stage then you'll miss another's fantastic entrance from the right. In the case of video, bigger shots are often better ones.

5. Let There Be Light

One of the biggest problems consumer camcorders have is poor low-light performance. If you're recording something indoors doing something as simple as turning on your overhead lights could make for a huge improvement in your video quality.

If you don't have an overhead light available try opening the curtains on the windows, or turning on nearby lamps. Your video will thank you for it, we promise.

6. Pass on Special Effects

Most camcorders have options built-in that allow you to record video in black and white, pastels, or sepia tone. Some camcorders even have options where you can add fades in-between shots or even type out sweet messages like "Happy Graduation" on the screen.

The best thing to do with all these fabulous special effects options is to forget they're even there and save all the special effects for the video editing program on your computer.

The biggest reason for waiting to do all the effects later is you can undo them in a video editing program if you don't like them. While shooting the school play in black and white may sound like a great idea at the time, it might not turn out the way you'd like. If you have a color original then you can do anything with the video; if you shoot something in crazy colors then you're going to lock yourself into that look forever.

7. Keep Rolling

Speaking of editing — if you plan on editing your video after you shoot it then the longer you can make your shots the better. Some camcorders are going to take a second from when you press the record button to when they actually start recording so it can be good to at least give yourself a few seconds from when you press record to when what you want to capture actually begins. Having a little pad at the end of the action can make it much easier to add transitions and cut the video down when it comes time to edit it. If you start recording too late, or stop to early you risk missing something you wanted to capture. It's almost always better to keep things safe and shoot a little longer.

8. Use a Microphone

While the built-in microphones in some camcorders can be pretty decent, nothing can beat the sound of using an external microphone for your sound.  If you think you're going to record things like interviews or other one-on-one activities then a moderately priced microphone can be an excellent investment. There are quite a few reasonably priced lavaliere microphones available now that can transmit sound to your camcorder wirelessly and that are small enough they probably won't be noticeable in your shots.

If you don't want to buy a microphone (or in situations where you simply can't mic everything going on) try to cut out as much ambient noise as possible. That might mean turning down or turning off nearby music, unplugging the fan or air conditioner for a second, or even moving your shot to a quieter location. Even the smallest sounds can turn into big ones when you're using your built-in microphone. The more you can cut out around you, the better your audience will be able to hear and focus on what you're actually trying to record.

9. Go Behind the Scenes

Instead of shooting static video of an event, try talking to people about what's going on. Sure it'll be great to have video of your kids opening Christmas presents on Christmas morning, but it would be even better to have video of dad trying to put together the trampoline at three in the morning, or have an interview the night before with the kids on what they're hoping to find under the tree in the morning.

Interviews can go a long way in home movies. No one wants to watch a 45-minute video of a birthday party, but everyone will be interested to hear what the party guests had to say. Filming what goes on before the party gets started and what people's thoughts and anticipations are about the event can make your videos much more memorable.

10. Don't Get Stuck Behind the Camera

Home videos are great, but they're no substitution for actually participating in an event — and no one likes to have a camera shoved in his or her face paparazzi style at every family function. Try to limit your video camera time, and pass the camera around to different family members. That way everyone gets a chance to be part of the action and you get to see things from a different perspective.