@emmny with that kind of attitude, do you think they would be propelled to perform overseas anymore?? I really do think you should show some respect and follow their wishes. I'd think you can live without a picture.
Yesterday at the Dallas live, no one was taking any pictures or was recording and we still had an AWESOME time.
Also, they had professionals and staff taking pictures and recording, so not all the experience will be lost.
In response to the entirety of this topic, I don't think it's to save face or image, but rather they want profit from professional pictures and recordings, and not have all these crummy recordings lingering around online.
I also think it depends on bands and not all VK bands. I went to see Dir En Grey and few years back and they didn't give a crap about images and recording.