Beamer Presentations: LaTeX Slides Tutorial for Beginners
Date Published
LaTeX Beamer: Professional Presentations
Create beautiful, professional slides for academic talks and conferences.
Getting Started
Basic Beamer document:
\documentclass{beamer} \title{My Presentation} \author{Your Name} \date{\today}
\begin{document} \frame{\titlepage} \end{document}
Creating Slides (Frames)
Each slide is a "frame":
\begin{frame} \frametitle{Slide Title} Content goes here. \end{frame}
Or shorthand:
\frame{\frametitle{Title} Content}
Beamer Themes
Built-in Themes
\usetheme{Madrid} — popular, clean design \usetheme{Berlin} — navigation sidebar \usetheme{Copenhagen} — blue header \usetheme{Boadilla} — minimal
Color Themes
\usecolortheme{whale} \usecolortheme{orchid} \usecolortheme{seahorse}
Font Themes
\usefonttheme{serif} \usefonttheme{professionalfonts}
Overlays: Reveal Content Gradually
Pause
First item \pause Second item (appears on click)
Item-by-Item Lists
\begin{itemize}[<+->] \item First \item Second \item Third \end{itemize}
Each item appears on successive clicks.
Specific Overlay Specs
\item<1-> Always visible \item<2-> From slide 2 \item<2-3> Only slides 2-3 \item<3> Only slide 3
Only and Visible
\only<2>{This text only on slide 2} \visible<2->{This appears from slide 2} \invisible<1>{Hidden on first}
Blocks
Standard Block
\begin{block}{Block Title} Content \end{block}
Alert Block
\begin{alertblock}{Warning} Important content! \end{alertblock}
Example Block
\begin{exampleblock}{Example} Example content \end{exampleblock}
Columns
\begin{columns} \begin{column}{0.5\textwidth} Left column \end{column} \begin{column}{0.5\textwidth} Right column \end{column} \end{columns}
Including Images
\includegraphics[width=0.8\textwidth]{image.png}
Center with:
\begin{center} \includegraphics[width=0.6\textwidth]{figure.pdf} \end{center}
Math in Beamer
Math works exactly like regular LaTeX:
$E = mc^2$
For display math:
\begin{equation} \int_0^\infty e^{-x^2} dx = \frac{\sqrt{\pi}}{2} \end{equation}
Table of Contents
Auto-generated outline:
\begin{frame} \frametitle{Outline} \tableofcontents \end{frame}
At section start:
\section{Introduction}
Notes and Handouts
Speaker Notes
\note{This is a speaker note} \note[item]{For a specific item}
Handout Mode
\documentclass[handout]{beamer}
Removes overlays, good for printouts.
Tips for Good Slides
1. Keep text minimal — slides support your talk 2. Use large fonts — readable from back of room 3. One idea per slide — focus attention 4. Use figures — visuals > text 5. Practice overlays — reveal info gradually
Create Presentations with Octree
Octree makes Beamer easy:
- Live preview of slides - Theme gallery - AI helps with content - Export presentation-ready PDFs
Try it at https://useoctree.com