Are both electrons and photons excitations of the EM field or is the electron an excitation of the “electron” field?

Based on Quantum Field Theory (QFT) an electron is the source of excitation for an electron field and not an electromagnetic field. Photons are excitations to an electromagnetic field. Charged particles, similar to electrons, are able to interact with the the electromagnetic field , namely photons, however they are not necessarily excitations of the field.