how do i get my photos back

I recently got a new phone and when I signed into icloud i was able to get my all my photos and contacts back. I wanted to get my apps back so I had to factory reset my phone and install the last backup. My last backup was from almost a year ago, and now I have no photos from the last year but i still have my notes and contacts from the last year. Since I was able to see them before I installed the backup, they must be somewhere right? How can I get these photos back on my phone? I also tried to sign into icloud on a separate device and the photos are missing completely on other devices as well.