Clearing iCloud storage space

I saw my $.99/50GB iCloud storage was approaching full and 3/4 of it was photos.

I went through and deleted over 1,000 photos and dumped them from the pending delete album and iCloud storage still shows the same amount of free space. No data was freed up. Checked a few days later to make sure it wasn’t just a delayed response, still nothing.

How can this be?

How do I gain space back without just upgrading to a bigger plan?