Today’s Question: Would you recommend using both Lightroom Classic AND Photoshop for someone who is new to it all?
Tim’s Quick Answer: I recommend first making sure that you are able to confidently make full use of Lightroom Classic for organizing and optimizing your photos before you start to learn to use Photoshop to supplement your workflow for optimizing photos.
More Detail: Photoshop is a remarkably powerful application for applying a wide variety of adjustments to your photos. However, it is also a bit complicated, and can be a little overwhelming to those who are just getting started.
Therefore, I recommend first making sure you fully understand how to use Lightroom Classic for organizing and optimizing your photos. Then I think you’ll be in a better position to add Photoshop to your workflow, to go beyond the capabilities of Lightroom Classic.
In particular I consider Photoshop to be superior to Lightroom Classic when it comes to image cleanup, targeted adjustments, composite imaging, and creative effects. That means you don’t need to know every single feature of Photoshop to be able to significantly improve your photos. However, because Photoshop is a little complicated, I suggest making sure your basic workflow is mastered before adding Photoshop to the mix.
Because Lightroom Classic is only available as part of a subscription, such as the Photography Plan (https://timgrey.me/ccplans), when you have access to Lightroom Classic you’ll already have access to Photoshop. I recommend starting with Lightroom Classic, making sure you understand how the catalog works and how to organize and optimize your photos. Then, when you feel ready, you can add Photoshop to your workflow to maximize your ability to improve your photos.