Help - Windows 10 Picture Purgatory - Data Recovery Software?

Guys - I'm near tears.  I finally started organizing the last 8 years of family digital pics. I have been copying files onto an external drive, then removing them from my Windows 10 laptop by deleting the folder the copied pics were in, then emptying the recycle bin.  Just now,  I went to open a picture I *thought* I had transferred.  I get a message saying "file type not supported" even though it is a jpeg.  The file size shows up as 0 bytes.  About 2,500 pictures are affected... 

Of course, since I emptied the recycle bin I'm screwed.  Google-fu says that there is some sort of consumer available data recovery software.  Do any of you know anything about this?

Thanks for any help!

Recuva is a program I have used in the past.  They have a free version that is pretty legit.

Give it a shot and if you cant figure it out I'll dust off my copy and see if I can help you out.  Recovery software will help with whatever hasn't been overwritten, but unfortunately some of your files are probably gone permanently, so be prepared for that.

Good luck