The notorious "casting couches" you hear about in stories of old Hollywood are a thing of the past, but there are still those eager to make a buck off performers desperate for a shot at their big break. Just as there are unsavory sites trolling marketers desperate to attract attention online.

From video streaming moguls like Netflix and HBO to social media giants like Facebook, entertainment companies are developing apps in droves, and consumers are spending a good chunk of their time on them. But despite the growing number of apps in the marketplace, smartphone users access on average about 27 apps per month, with 70% of total usage coming from the top 200 apps. What does this mean? Millions of apps flood the app store every day, but users aren't changing their preferences. Competition is getting stiffer, and it's getting more and more difficult to stand out from the crowd.

The power of The Force is a very good thing for millions of fans, and especially for Hollywood and movie theaters. In 2015, thanks in large part to Star Wars: The Force Awakens, U.S. box offices reached record revenue of $11 billion. And analysts predict that stocks for theater operators like AMC Entertainment will also enjoy the "Star Wars bump."

The Beatles crossing Abbey Road. Celebrities with milk mustaches. The GEICO gecko standing on two legs. Photos may be worth a thousand words, but they can also be worth a million bucks. That's why it's so important to invest in great and creative photography for entertainment PR and marketing campaigns. Here are a few things I've learned over the years (sometimes the hard way).