I would love to hear from someone that has had their actual photos copyrighted or some that knows the legal aspect of copyrighting. The reason I ask is because I need to know if I have more a foot to stand on with "original photo "OR" the edited version my photo being used without my permission.

Is it best to edit your photos before or after before you copyright?

Where are you located as laws vary..

Assuming you are in the US: doesn't matter whether your photo is original (I assume you mean the "raw" data file straight out of the camera) or if you've edited it - if you state that a work is copyrighted then it's copyrighted and others may not use without permission. If you're asking whether someone can edit your photo and then claim as their own: not without your permission.