A silver halide light sensitive photographic element is disclosed comprising a support bearing at least one cyan image forming hydrophilic colloid layer comprising cyan image dye forming coupler of Formula I and benzoic acid ester or diester high boiling solvent of Formula II. wherein Ra is an alkyl group, Rb is a ballast group, and X is hydrogen or a coulping-off group. wherein: each m is independently 0, 1, 2 or 3; each R1 is an individually selected alkyl group with up to four carbon atoms; n is 1 to 7; each R2, R3, R4 and R5 may be the same or different and is individually selected from hydrogen or an alkyl group with up to four carbon atoms; p is 0 to 3; q is 1 to 7; r is 0 or 1; and the log P of the solvent is at least 4.0. The photographic elements of the invention provide high cyan coupler reactivity and form deep cyan dye hues upon photographic processing without degrading cyan dye dark stability. The elements are relatively insensitive to processing developer modifications and employ solvents which are expected to have low undesirable biological effects.