How to find your photos from iCloud?

Ok so i got a new phone and i thought i backed up all my photos to my computer from my camera role on my iPhone 4s (upgraded to 5s) and i didn't so I'm afraid i lost all my photos from my camera role bc i reseat the 4s to factory seating so my little sister could have it but i read that iCloud backs up your photos i just don't know where to find my photos if it did or is it possible i have really bad luck and they are gone. Thanks and please only serious answers bc i had a lot of special and meaningful photos and i really don't want to think they are gone

ps i have a macbook if there's a certain place on my laptop i need to look

Just go to iclouds sign in with your apple id and get your data that you have on iclouds

Step 1:Open "Settings" from the home screen of an iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch and tap "iCloud." Tap the "On/Off" toggle to turn it on and enter your Apple ID as prompted. Turn on Photo Stream to see your own pictures in iCloud and Shared Photo Streams to see pictures other people have shared with you.
Step 2:Launch the "Photos" app from the home screen and tap the "Photo Stream" button at the bottom of the screen. If you can't see the button, tap either the "Camera Roll" or "Albums" button in the upper right corner to make the Photo Stream button visible.
Step 3:Tap "My Photo Stream" to see pictures you uploaded yourself. If someone has shared a Photo Stream album with you, it will be available on this screen as well.

Using a PC
Step 1:Download and install iCloud Control Panel for Windows
Step 2:Launch iCloud Control Panel for Windows and enter your Apple ID and password as prompted. You need an Apple iOS device or a Mac with OS X Lion or later to create an Apple ID before you can use iCloud.
Step 3:Click the "Photo Stream" check box to enable Photo Stream. Click the "Options" button to make sure the Photo Stream option is selected. Enable the Shared Photo Streams option if you want to see photos shared by other people. Click "Apply."
Step 4:Select "Photo Stream" from the Windows 8 Start screen at any time to view your own Photo Stream photos and those shared by others if you have selected the Shared Photo Streams option.
Using a Mac
Step 1:Select "System Preferences" from the Apple menu on your Mac desktop and click "iCloud." Click the "Photo Stream" check box and then click "Options" to ensure that both "Photo Stream" and "Shared Photo Streams" are enabled.
Step 2:Launch either iPhoto or Aperture. Click the "iPhoto" or "Aperture" menu at the top of the screen and select "Preferences." Click the "Photo Stream" tab and then select the "Photo Stream" and "Shared Photo Stream" options.
Step 3:Select "Photo Stream" from the main window in either iPhoto or Aperture after you have configured it to see your Photo Stream photos.