Photons are by definition quantized energy packets. If the energy weren't quantized, it wouldn't be a photon. What you're probably referring to is quantization

Photons are by definition quantized energy packets. If the energy weren't quantized, it wouldn't be a photon. What you're probably referring to is quantization of the electron energy, but I believe that only happens for bound electrons. If an atom loses or gains electrons, things can work quite differently. This is also different for electrons in a metal's conduction band, which are somewhat free, since they are bound to the metal, but not so much to individual atoms.