Build your Instagram audience instantly with these tips from Chris Burkard

Adventure photographer Chris Burkard is not only a highly-talented pro and excellent educator, but he's one of the biggest names on Instagram with over 2 million followers. He recently teamed up with COOPH to offer up to other photographers some tips on building their Instagram following. Now you may or may not be able to reach 2 million followers, but his advice is sure to help you increase the folks following your work.

Burkard's first tip? Stop posting selfies and get out there and experience adventures. People don't want to see your selfies on their Instagram feed unless you're some huge Hollywood celebrity. People, especially ones who don't know you, really want to see amazing photographs. The more adventures you go on, the more awesome the images will be that'll to capture and share. When you're out taking photos, consider your "signature look," which Chris says is really important for gaining a lot of followers. If people can look at one of your shots and know immediately that you took it, you definitely have your own personal style.

While we all love looking at technically impressive photographs, it's also important to consider the story that your images tell. Instagram is fast and users are bombarded with a lot of great images all the time, so you need to make sure your work stands out by having viewers connect to it emotionally. Don't be afraid to use your image captions to help tell your story either. On the topic of hashtags, be judicious and stick only to relevant hashtags.

For the rest of Burkard's excellent tips, check out the video below:

Think you'll be shooting in or around water in your attempts to gain Instagram followers? We actually spoke with Chris Burkard about that very topic last December, so I highly recommend reading that story.

To see more of Chris' work, visit his website and of course, if you haven't already, follow him on Instagram.

(Seen via ISO 1200)