To form a relief image with a specified tanning developing agent not producing a harmful effect such as contamination by imagewise exposing a silver halide photographic material contg. the tanning developing agent in the emulsion layer or a layer adjacent to the emulsion layer, processing it with a specified alkaline soln. and removing the unhardened region.

A silver halide photographic material having at least one silver halide emulsion layer carrier on the substrate and contg. a tanning developing agent represented by the formula in the emulsion layer or a layer adjacent to the emulsion layer is imagewise exposed and processed with an alkaline soln. of >pH9 to harden the developed region of the material. The unhardened region is then removed by processing with an aq. medium to form the objective relief image. In the formula, each of R1 and R2 is ≥3C alkyl or aryl.