Two international photographers have withdrawn their works from an exhibition in Sydney in protest over what one has described as censorship.

The photographers' works are being displayed on a screen near the Museum of Contemporary Art as part of the annual Vivid festival.

But several photographers say they have been asked to restrict the use of some images.

They have told the ABC that Vivid organisers said several photos were considered inappropriate and should not be displayed.

Photographer Jodi Beiber is one of them.

Ms Beiber is known for her photo of an Afghan woman with her nose cut off, which featured on the cover of Time magazine.

She says one of her photos of a bare-breasted woman was removed from the exhibition and she has decided to withdraw her feature in protest.

"If I look at all the photographs that are not allowed to be shown, I feel that there's a huge censorship," she said.

"I come from South Africa which is a country that's not perfect.

"But when you have such protection of a society, how are your children going to be when they go out into the real world, if they're not allowed to experience or see or make up their own mind about what happens in the world?"

Vivid organisers have rejected suggestions they have censored the photographic screening, arguing that some of the proposed images are not appropriate to be shown in a public place.

Vivid creative director Ignatius Jones says some of the photos, including those of dead children, are confronting.

"I would say to them to look at the laws and bylaws in New South Wales regarding what can be shown in a public precinct, a public park with fully unrestricted public access," he said.

All the photos are being shown at other indoor exhibits.

Reportage curator Stephen Dupont says he hopes most of the images will still get screened.

"I hope that we can work through that continuously with the support of the photographers of course," he said.

"I'm quite passionate and quite upset and angry about certain works that are appearing on the big screen."