I don't think you're a moron at all.
As /u/FireTheMainGun said, Girl 1 was just...odd. Girl 2 might simply have requested a picture to check you're a real person, but she failed to communicate that clearly.
IME, you run into things like this more often with younger women. Unclear communication, emotional meandering, fear of feelings and conflict-avoidance. Now, I don't blame these girls, as most people haven't grown into their personalities by their early twenties. But it does mean that certain emotional and social skills aren't there yet.
It sounds like these skills matter to you, OP, in which case I focusing on women past that age might make online dating a little more exciting.