Only have 47gb of unused space on my SSD and deleted 14 GB of photos to free space. Now I find out that the system will keep them for 30 days in case I change my mind. I won't. Is there any way to force delete and get around this?
You should have a folder called 'recently deleted' and if you go there top right there's a button 'delete all'.
That will delete them all permanently and instantly.
..and by the way, if you select the photos you want deleting then hold down the command key as you hit the back button, you don't get the silly nag screen asking you if you want to do this.