One thing to remember is that taking a good photo takes a lot of work, taking a snapshot is easy but creating the perfect photo is far from easy and quick. With renders we often want to create situations that are impossible in one way or another.
Combining the difficulty of making the perfect photo with the impossible picture requires great flexibility in setting up a scene with all objects, lights and shadows in just the right spot.

We don't really want real photo realisme, we want the impression of realisme and we want it easy and quick.

My conclusion: Dream on !
It is never going to be easy or quick but some illusions can be created quicker and easier than is nowadays possible. We will always want it easier, quicker and better looking. Make the best of what we got now and great results are possible.