You do need a quantum explanation if you are considering it one photon at a time (since photons are are part of the quantum mechanical model), but that doesn't

You do need a quantum explanation if you are considering it one photon at a time (since photons are are part of the quantum mechanical model), but that doesn't mean you need quantum mechanics to explain the phenomenon. Every classically explainable phenomenon in principle has an equivalent quantum proof because otherwise quantum mechanics would not be a complete theory.