How-to guide
How to Share Your Screen and Your Face at the Same Time in Teams and Zoom
In Microsoft Teams (desktop app), turn your camera on, click Share and choose a presenter mode: Standout, Side-by-side or Reporter. In Zoom, share your PowerPoint window and pick a layout such as Side by side, or use Share → Advanced → PowerPoint as Virtual Background. To get the same look in every app, with one-key switching, use a virtual camera such as VCam Studio.
In short
- Teams: presenter modes overlay or place your video beside shared content. They need the Teams desktop client; Teams for the web doesn’t support them.
- Zoom: layouts such as “In front”, “Over the shoulder” and “Side by side” when sharing PowerPoint, or slides as a virtual background (desktop app, local PowerPoint; slide animations, transitions and sound aren’t supported).
- Any app (Teams, Zoom, Meet, Webex, browsers): a virtual camera composes your screen or slides with you and sends it as your camera. VCam Studio does this with ready-made “Screen share” and “Slides” scenes on keys 1–9.
- Why it matters: people stay connected to you, not just the pixels, especially in sales demos, lessons and webinars.
Why showing your face while you share matters
When you share your screen, most call apps shrink you to a tiny thumbnail, or hide you completely for some viewers. The audience loses your expressions and gestures, the cues that make a demo persuasive or a lesson engaging. Showing yourself beside your content fixes that.
And there are a lot of these moments. Microsoft’s Work Trend Index found that the average Teams user’s number of weekly meetings had risen 153% since February 2020, and their weekly meeting time 252% (2022 report). Better shared-screen moments add up quickly.
Method 1: Microsoft Teams presenter modes
Best for: Teams-only presenters on the desktop app.
- Join the meeting in the Teams desktop app and turn your camera on.
- Click Share (the arrow-in-a-box icon at the top of the meeting).
- Under Presenter mode, choose:
- Standout: your video is cut out and placed over your content.
- Side-by-side: your video sits beside your content.
- Reporter: your content appears above your shoulder, like a news anchor.
- Select the screen, window or file to share.
- Use the presenter preview to adjust your video’s position and size.
Limitations to know - Presenter modes need the Teams desktop client. Microsoft notes that mobile and web attendees see the shared content and your video separately, and Teams for the web doesn’t support advanced screen-sharing features such as presenter modes. - It only works in Teams, so you’ll need to learn something different for Zoom or Meet. - No name cards, timers or one-key scene switching.
Method 2: Zoom layouts and slides as a virtual background
Best for: Zoom-only presenters showing PowerPoint.
Option A: share PowerPoint with a layout 1. In the Zoom desktop app, click Share → Screens. 2. Under Application windows, select Microsoft PowerPoint. 3. Choose a layout: In front, Over the shoulder or Side by side. 4. Click Share, then move and resize your video as needed.
Option B: PowerPoint as virtual background 1. Click Share → Advanced → PowerPoint as Virtual Background. 2. Select your .pptx file. 3. Your slides become your background, with you in front.
Limitations to know - Zoom’s support notes say the slides-as-background option needs the Zoom desktop app with PowerPoint installed locally, and that slide animations, transitions and sound aren’t supported. - It’s Zoom-only, and it’s PowerPoint-focused (other windows use different options). - No live overlays such as name cards or countdowns.
Method 3: a virtual camera (works in every app)
Best for: anyone who presents in more than one app, or wants more than a single layout.
A virtual camera is software that appears as a webcam in Windows. Because the composition happens before the call app sees it, the layout works identically in Teams, Zoom, Google Meet, Webex, Discord, browsers and OBS. (New to the idea? Read virtual camera software for Windows, explained.)
How to do it with VCam Studio
- Install VCam Studio on Windows 11. It adds a camera called “VCam Studio Camera”. Windows asks permission once to add it.
- Pick a starting scene:
- Screen share: your whole screen or a single window, with you in the corner.
- Slides: your PowerPoint (.pptx) inside the scene, with you beside it.
- Adjust in a click: drag your camera where you want it, and resize the screen or slides. The Window source can capture one window even when it’s behind others.
- Add the finishing touches (optional): blur or replace your background, a name card, your logo, a clock or a pointer halo so people can see where your mouse is.
- Put each scene on a number key. For example, 1 = Just me, 2 = Screen share, 3 = Slides, 4 = Pricing.
- Go live and choose VCam Studio Camera in Teams (Settings → Devices → Camera) or Zoom (Settings → Video → Camera).
- Present. Press 1–9 to switch, or keep the small pop-out switcher on top of PowerPoint or your browser.
Tip: because you’re sending your screen as your camera, you don’t need the call app’s Share button. Everyone sees the same composed picture, whether they’re on desktop, web or mobile. If you also need people to click links or read small text, share the screen normally as well.
Which method should you use?
| Teams presenter modes | Zoom layouts / slides background | Virtual camera (VCam Studio) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Works in | Teams desktop only | Zoom desktop only | Any app that accepts a webcam |
| Shows you beside screen/slides | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Same look for web and mobile attendees | Not for presenter modes | Varies | ✓ (it’s your camera feed) |
| One-key switching between layouts | – | – | ✓ (keys 1–9) |
| Name cards, clocks, countdowns | – | – | ✓ |
| Freeze / blank in one press | – | – | ✓ |
| Annotate live | Teams annotation tools when sharing | Zoom annotation tools | Annotation from phone/browser, Sketchpad |
| Background blur or replace | Teams background effects | Zoom virtual backgrounds | ✓ (blur or replace, same in every app) |
| Cost | Included | Included | One-time: £99 / $119 for work use (Studio), £49 / $59 for personal use; 20-hour free trial |
Our honest take: if you only use one app and only need one layout, the built-in option is fine. The moment you present in more than one app, switch between layouts mid-call, or want to look properly produced, a virtual camera saves time every single meeting.
Pro tips for screen + face presenting
- Share a window, not the whole screen. It keeps notifications and other tabs private. VCam Studio’s Window source captures one window even behind others.
- Put your camera near the content’s “empty” side. On most slides that’s the right-hand side.
- Make text big enough for a thumbnail. People often watch you in a small tile. Aim for a 24 pt minimum on slides.
- Use private notes. VCam Studio’s Note element shows speaker notes on your canvas that are never sent to the call.
- Pre-build a “Q&A” scene. Switch back to a full-frame camera for questions, so you feel conversational again.
- Have a Freeze or Blank key ready in case a private notification pops up.
- Mirror check. If text in your camera looks backwards to you, that’s often local mirroring only. In Zoom, turn off Mirror my video if you want to see text the right way round.
Three ready-made setups to copy
The sales demo (three scenes) - Key 1, Intro: full-frame camera with a name card (“Your name · Solutions Consultant”). - Key 2, Demo: the product window captured with the Window source, and your camera in a circle bottom-left. - Key 3, Pricing: a pricing slide from PowerPoint with your camera beside it. Switch back to key 1 for questions, so the conversation feels human again.
The lesson (three scenes) - Key 1, Lesson: slides on the left two-thirds, you on the right. - Key 2, Whiteboard: a Sketchpad scene for working through a problem live. - Key 3, Quiet work: a countdown with the activity instructions as text.
The webinar (four scenes) - Key 1, Starting soon: logo, countdown to the start time and a local clock. - Key 2, Speaker: camera with a name card for each speaker in turn. - Key 3, Slides: the deck with the speaker beside it. - Key 4, Break: a full-screen Break countdown with your message.
Build each set once and reuse it every week. VCam Studio’s Export a scene lets you share a setup with a colleague or move it to another PC.
Troubleshooting
“My virtual camera isn’t listed in Teams or Zoom.” Fully quit the app (including from the system tray) and reopen it. Most apps only list cameras at launch.
“Text looks blurry.” Share a single window at a sensible size rather than a 4K full desktop, and increase the font size.
“Teams presenter modes are greyed out.” You’re probably on Teams for the web, or your camera is off.
“Slides as background won’t load in Zoom.” Check that PowerPoint is installed locally and that you’re on the Zoom desktop app.
Frequently asked questions
How do I share my screen and show my camera at the same time in Teams?
In the Teams desktop app, turn your camera on, click Share and choose a presenter mode (Standout, Side-by-side or Reporter), then pick the screen, window or file. Presenter modes aren’t available in Teams for the web.
How do I present PowerPoint in Zoom and still be seen?
Share your PowerPoint window and choose a layout such as Side by side or Over the shoulder, or use Share → Advanced → PowerPoint as Virtual Background. Both need the Zoom desktop app.
Can I do picture-in-picture in Zoom?
Yes. Zoom’s PowerPoint sharing layouts place your video over or beside your slides. For picture-in-picture over any window or screen, in any app, use a virtual camera such as VCam Studio and its Screen share scene.
Does this work in Google Meet?
Meet’s built-in options are more limited. A virtual camera works in Meet because Meet simply sees it as a webcam: choose “VCam Studio Camera” under Settings → Video.
Will web and mobile attendees see my layout?
With Teams presenter modes, web and mobile attendees see the content and your video separately. With a virtual camera, everyone sees the composed picture because it’s your camera feed.
Do I need a second monitor?
No, but it helps. VCam Studio can float its canvas to another monitor, and the pop-out switcher stays on top of other apps on a single screen.
Written by RSW Digital Ltd, the makers of VCam Studio, so we have an interest in you choosing it. Competitor details were checked on the date shown and may change; we link to their own pages so you can check.