why do I need to download iTunes to my PC in order to download photos from my IPhone? They are not in ICloud.

See Transfer photos and videos from your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch - Apple Support. It may be that iTunes is required to install a driver, although I'm sure it used to be the case that iPhone was capable of appearing as a camera in Windows Explorer with no additional software. Try connecting to USB and trust the computer if prompted. You ought to be able to copy and paste photos and videos from the device to local storage.

tt2