Don't see photos from icloud. Replaced broken 4s w/new phone. Help! How do I get photos back? They don't show up on icloud online but phone says broken phone was backed up yesterday under manage storage. How do I use this backup?

Question

Please help.  Replaced broken phone w/new 4s.  I did as the genius bar guy said and did reset>erase all content and settings at home because he said it would take too long in the store.  Last time I had to replace my phone, all the photos and video were there.  Now they're not.  I had set up icloud but when i typed in "my restore from icloud", nothing came up.  I NEED those pictures and videos.  They're the last photos and videos I have of my mother who passed away recently.  Please I need them back.  I feel like I've lost her all over again.  Please someone help.  I went to icloud>storage & backup>manage storage and i see that those pictures were backed up yesterday yet I don't see any pictures or picture icon in icloud.com.  Please someone help me get those pictures back.  They're priceless and they're the last I have left of my mother.

Answer 1

If this is your first sync and there is already data on the phone, perform the steps listed below.  This will transfer your apps and other media purchased from the iTunes store to your iTunes library, perform a manual backup and restore, then sync the iTunes media back to the phone from your iTunes library.  This will not transfer media from other sources such as music from your ripped CDs.  As you said you never synced before, I assume all of your apps, music and other media was purchased from the iTuens and App stores.  If this is correct, you won't lose anything.
Download and install iTunes: http://www.apple.com/itunes/.
Launch iTunes, go to the View menu and click to check Show Sidebar.
Go to iTunes>Preferences>Devices (Edit>Preferences>Devices if using Windows) and check "Prevent...from syncing automatically".
Go to Store>Authorize This Computer and authorize all Apple IDs used to purchase apps and other iTunes media (music, podcasts, movies, tv shows, etc.) on your phone.
On her phone, go to Settings>iCloud>Storage & Backup and turn iCloud Backup to Off.
Connect her phone to your computer and in iTunes go to File>Devices>Transfer Purchases to transfer your purchased media to your iTunes library.
Right-click on the name of the phone on the left side of iTunes and click "Reset Warnings".
Right-click on the name of the phone again and click "Back Up" to back up the phone.
Right-click again and choose "Restore from Backup...", select the backup you just made to restore from and restore the backup to your phone.  If prompted to back up again, decline.
Go to the Info tab and make sure nothing is checked so you aren't syncing calendars, contacts, etc. with iTunes.
Go to the Summary tab and select This Computer under Automatically Back Up.
Check the other tabs to confirm that your sync settings are the way you want them.
Click Apply at the bottom to sync your phone.