my iPhone is maxed out & I can’t seem to follow steps to save contents such as photos
to my laptop so as to free up space .
also need to recover and get my iCloud emails
on my iPhone once storage is resolved
iPhone XR, iOS 14
See this article, to see how you can manage your iCloud storage: Manage your iCloud storage - Apple Support
You can also transfer photos from iPhone to computer, then delete the photos on the phone, as you say. To learn how to do the transfer, see this: Transfer photos and videos from your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch - Apple Support
How to free up storage in iCloud
