My hard drive failed and I can't afford the professional data recovery. Do I have any other options?

Question

I have a 13" Early 2011 Macbook Pro.  Last week the hard drive failed (for the second time), and when I took it to the Apple Store I was told it would cost $177 to replace the hard drive and the cables.  I intend on going through with this and getting it fixed, however the man I talked to said I should hold on to it a little longer before giving it to them for repair in case I want to recover my data.  When I researched how to recover the data, my answers mostly consisted of taking it to a professional to do so.  I found a local authorized service provider who said they could do so, however I was told it would cost at least $400 to recover my data (possibly more depending on how much data there is to recover).
I can afford to pay $177 to fix the hard drive.  I cannot, however, afford to pay an additional $400+ to get all of my data back.  Yes I realize I should have backed my files up onto an external hard drive (I'm not the most computer-savvy person), but honestly, all I really need is my photos.  When my hard drive was in the process of failing, I got a flash drive and put a lot of my files onto it so I would at least have some of them when I got my Macbook fixed.  At this point, I can't even turn it on, so I am not able to go into iPhoto and get my pictures.
Is there any way I can do this myself?  There is no way I can get this done professionally.  I would love to be able to all of my data and files back, but if I can just get some that is better than nothing.  Any help would be appreciated!

Answer 1

obesity wrote:
It was really empty. Clicked on, nothing.
But no prohibited signs, like these:
Get info on folder, zero kb. Just one user account on each mac.
I did navigate back several days prior to my Mac dying. Still nothing.
Sounds like it may have been excluded, or perhaps damaged. 
Just for future reference, it's always a good idea to keep "secondary" backups.  See #27 in Time Machine - Frequently Asked Questions for some suggestions.