Photos disappeared after I updated icloud storage

"Photos disappeared after I updated iCloud storage: Most of my pictures from february weren't loading and were just showing up as grey,then I updated the icloud storage from 5gb to 50 gb and now those pics that weren't loading just fully disappeared. Is there any way to retrieve them?"

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Troubleshooting Lost Photos:

Five Things to Try:

A. Start here: If you're Missing Photos or Videos in the Photos app - Apple Support

B. Check "Recently Deleted":

For iOS16 and later, you can tap "Recently Deleted", and see if they are shown there.

C. Check iCloud, Directly:

For Photos: Go here, and see if they reside in iCloud: https://www.icloud.com/photos

D. Restore your iPhone from a Backup:

Have any backups of this iPhone prior to this occurrence? If so, restore your iPhone from one that has these photos (the most recent backup, ideally). If not, then take this as a learning experience, knowing to always back up your device for recovery purposes. Important: Back up you iPhone prior to performing this restoration, should anything go wrong from here on out.

E. Where Else to Check:

1. PC
2. PDA
3. eMail
4. Mac Device
5. Cloud Storage
6. Android Phone
7. USB Flash Drive
8. External Hard drive
9. Secure Digital Card
10. Compact Flash Card

Among the suggestions from TheLittles, probably your best bet is to try restoring from your backup, if you had Settings>Apple ID>iCloud Backup turned on for your phone. See

Restore your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch from a backup - Apple Support 

This is what you do when you buy a new phone, so this safety, if you have it set, requires you to erase everything on your phone and replace it with the backup.

Certainly check the other options, but unfortunately, when your storage gets full, when you run out of places to put things, stuff gets lost. If you don't keep your own backups to an external drive, then there really isn't any place else to look.