Color reversal photographic elements can be effectively processed to provide positive color images using bleaching compositions in which the primary bleaching agent is a ferric complex of 1,3-propylenediaminetetraacetic acid or a salt thereof. Any potential precipitation of the bleaching agent is inhibited by the presence of at least 0.005 mol/l of an organic polyphosphonic acid, an aminopolysuccinic acid, or a polycarboxylic acid containing at least one hydroxy group as a compound. This compound can be added directly to the bleaching composition or introduced from carryover from a previous photoprocessing step, such as a prebleaching step using color reversal processing.