I work in optical engineering and am not an expert scientist in the nature of light. Our professional society SPIE held conferences (titled nature of light: what is a ohoton) over the last several years ( i believe there were 7 sessions over 7 years) where the experts argued out the nature of light and there is still disagreement amongst them on what a photon is and whether it exists.

Meanwhile, solving electromagnetic field components in the presence of optical components similar to Feynmans approach, whether it be a simple lens or photonic integrated circuits, well models actual behavior in all practical cases encountered with modern optical devices that I am aware of. I haven't seen any benefit to switching to a photon emission based model, especially when the experts cant even agree on the fundamental nature of the photon.