Photographs are formed by light through a lens falling onto film (or a sensor).
NASA has images like that. They also have images formed after extensive post-processing, or merges of several images, or from frequencies other than light, or computer rendered from map data, or etc etc.
I can easily imagine someone saying that. What is happening to language? Only the same thing that has happened to it for thousands of years. Language changes and evolves – inevitably, constantly, and in my opinion, beautifully.
Just as you used "photo" synonymously with "photograph", "image" is coming - as another commmenter pointed out - to become synonymous with a photo because languages evolve. I don't understand the irritation.
