Hi, welcome to AC!
You checked in app called My Files ?
Slim chance of getting them backHi, forgot to mention
I did not have the recycle bin enabled and I don't have google photos options either
Welcome to Android Central! Can you tell us exactly how you deleted the files? Are you saying you deleted the folder called /DCIM/Camera?
Use My Files or any other file manager app to explore the phone's folder structure, looking specifically for /DCIM/Camera. Anything in there?
You'd have to root the phone to recover files, and some of them are probably already gone due to being overwritten. See this guide: [Guide] Recovering Deleted Files - Android Forums at AndroidCentral.com
That's if it's international version , if US going be harder if it's available.If you use Magisk to root, and don't flash the new boot file, just boot with it, it's a temporary root. But even if you root it "permanently" (you can always flash the unrooted boot file to remove root) Magisk won't harm anything. Just read this thread on XDA to see how it's done.
You are correctYou don't need root to flash a custom recovery, you need an unlocked bootloader. Unlocking the bootloader allows you to flash a custom recovery which allows you to flash a new boot or system image. Rooting gives access to the system files. Really wish people would learn the difference between the two.