If I delete my iphoto trash, will a folder with those pictures be okay on my desktop?

So i have a folder on my desktop on my macbook pro that has pictures in it. They are also in my iphoto trash and i know that the only way to empty my trash is to empty the entire iphoto trash. I was just wondering if I want to keep those photos in the file on my desktop but not in the trash, can I delete the trash and they will still be in the folder? let me know thanks! 🙂