Do i have the legal right to ask getty images to remove a photo of me at an event from their files

In California (and most other states) there is a personal right of publicity that may apply, depending on the use of your image. While the inclusion of your image in a photo may not be infringing your rights (as discussed by other attorneys earlier, you should be aware that Generally speaking, the right of publicity protects a person's right in his or her name and likeness, and where the use is commercial in nature, you do have a right in most circumstances to control the use of your image. Specifically, the court in California has a three step process: Was there a “knowing” use of the plaintiff’s protected identity? Was the use for advertising purposes? Was there a direct connection between the use and a commercial purpose? Right of publicity is a rapidly growing area of dispute, but, again, more information would be required in order to understand whether that use infringes your personal right.

If you were in a public place and were aware that photos were being taken, then you are not in a very good position to ask anyone to remove images that were taken of you from their website.

If the event was public -- in the sense of being held at a venue in which the public may routinely enter or which held an event to which the public or many unrelated people were invited -- then, no, you very likely have no right to demand that a photograph of you taken at that event be removed from a publicly-available online photography archive. This is true even if you're not a public figure but is especially true if you are [or a "limited purpose public figure"] because, whether we like it or not, the photograph is considered "news" and so falls squarely within the strong protections afforded by the First Amendment. You MAY have leverage, however, if: 1) you can prove the two companies you mention actually agreed to remove the photographs from their database, but did not, or 2) if the owner of the copyright in the photograph objects to their publication of the photograph or 3) the venue was not public and the event private and the photographer trespassed in order to take the photograph [in which case the photograph was unlawful and anyone who purchased it violated the law as well [see CA Civil Code 1708.8(f), or 4) some other reason your own attorney can envision. There will be facts in play that only your own attorney can consider. Good luck.

You are already getting a better result than most, in that 1) they acknowledged your request, and 2) agreed to your request. Some gentle reminders would probably be much, much more effective than threatening litigation over your rights of publicity. The subject of a photo doesn't own the copyright, the photographer does (in the absence of alternative contractual relations.