Overexposed and Grainy Lighting Issue After Installing Skyrim Creation Kit – Need Help!

[Hloddoviko Adalbert]

Hi everyone,
I’m experiencing a strange issue with the lighting in my game, where light sources, especially the sun, appear overexposed and grainy, creating odd visual effects. This problem started after I installed the Creation Kit from Steam; before that, everything was running perfectly. I’ve also noticed that the issue only occurs when the light source is partially obstructed, like when it’s behind an NPC or a structure. When the light is unobstructed, everything looks normal.

I’ve tried various troubleshooting steps, including reinstalling mods and uninstalling the Creation Kit, but the problem persists.

Here are some screenshots showing the difference before and after the issue began:
Before: https://imgur.com/wsj0k6O
After: https://imgur.com/Jn1qtTs

I’d appreciate any advice or suggestions on how to fix this problem. If anyone has encountered something similar, I’d be grateful for any insight. Thanks in advance!

Load Order:

15 f Unofficial Skyrim Special Edition Patch.esp

16 10 BSAssets.esm

17 11 BSHeartland.esm

18 12 BS_DLC_patch.esp

254 FE 41 1Dwemer.esl

19 13 Siege at Icemoth.esp

254 FE 42 1YsmirArmorSE.esl

254 FE 43 ECE Sliders for Racemenu.esl

20 14 High Poly Head.esm

254 FE 44 Expressive Facegen Morphs.esl

254 FE 45 TrueHUD.esl

21 15 SkyUI_SE.esp

22 16 EnhancedLightsandFX.esp

254 FE 46 ELFX Shadows.esp

254 FE 47 ELFX - Hearthfire Light Addon.esp

23 17 ELFX - Exteriors.esp

254 FE 48 ELFX Shadow - ELFX Exteriors Patch.esp

24 18 CutContentRestoration.esp

25 19 ELFX - Weathers.esp

26 1a aaaGraniteHill.esp

254 FE 49 HYORFishing&SurvivalPatch.esp

27 1b Beyond Unbound.esp

28 1c Ilinalta.esp

29 1d Skyland Watercolor - Slow Green-Vanilla.esp

30 1e Improved Dragon Priest Masks.esp

31 1f Pocky's Eternal Blessings.esp

254 FE 4a SolitudeThroneFix_BOS.esp

254 FE 4b Sonders_Keyword_Distribution.esp

254 FE 4c Warming Hands.esp

254 FE 4d CBBE 3BA Vanilla Outfits.esp

32 20 SkyrimOutfitSystem.esp

33 21 UIExtensions.esp

254 FE 4e NW_Companions_Replacer_Light.esp

254 FE 4f evgInfiltratorarmor.esp

254 FE 50 BnP - Skinfix.esp

254 FE 51 CBBE.esp

34 22 RaceMenu.esp

35 23 RaceMenuPlugin.esp

36 24 RaceMenuMorphsCBBE.esp

254 FE 52 3BBB.esp

254 FE 53 _Fuse00_ArmorGorm.esp

254 FE 54 AX RiftenNoFG.esp

254 FE 55 evgCLAMBER.esp

37 25 1YsmirArmorSE.esp

254 FE 56 Valenwood Ranger Armor.esp

254 FE 57 EVGConditionalIdles.esp

254 FE 58 Conditional Expressions.esp

38 26 Animations.esp

254 FE 59 PhotoMode.esp

39 27 SFO_SkinFeatureOverlays.esp

40 28 TGNoToNocturnal.esp

FNIS.esp

254 FE 5a evgmodularSMPhair.esp

41 29 XPMSE.esp

42 2a FMS_FemaleMakeupSuite.esp

43 2b Wolfpaint_Face.esp

254 FE 5b KaliliesBrows.esp

254 FE 5c Kalilies Brows for High Poly Head.esp

254 FE 5d ObiWarpaintsTattoos.esp

254 FE 5e EvenMoreMakeup.esp

254 FE 5f Lamenthia's Marks of Beauty.esp

44 2c High Poly Head Vampire Fix.esp

45 2d SmoothCam.esp

254 FE 60 TrueDirectionalMovement.esp

254 FE 61 MCMHelper.esp

254 FE 62 WinterholdAccess.esp

46 2e alternate start - live another life.esp

254 FE 63 Alternate Start - Bruma.esp

254 FE 64 ELFX - Hardcore.esp

254 FE 65 Alternate Start ELFX Fix.esp

47 2f open cities skyrim.esp

48 30 ELFX - Exteriors Open Cities Patch.esp

[smr1957]

Are you using an ENB, and if so which - because that actually looks like the bloom is set too high (which would be a setting in your ENB). Also, you can check the Brightness slider in the in-game menu (ESC key to the main menu, then Settings, and then see about adjusting the Brightness slider). Those are the first and simplest things to check, before moving on to checking other things.

[isomorphic_projection]

Make an after shot and before. Of the exact same rock and piece of mod, with some shadow in it.

[Hloddoviko Adalbert]

Originally posted by smr1957:

Are you using an ENB, and if so which - because that actually looks like the bloom is set too high (which would be a setting in your ENB). Also, you can check the Brightness slider in the in-game menu (ESC key to the main menu, then Settings, and then see about adjusting the Brightness slider). Those are the first and simplest things to check, before moving on to checking other things.

I don't use ENB. The only mods I have installed that affect lighting in any way are ELFX and Light Limit Fix, which is part of Community Shaders. After uninstalling ELFX, the issue with the sun was resolved, but the problem with flames and their reflections on surfaces persisted. This makes me suspect it could be related to Community Shaders. I even disabled Light Limit Fix, which directly handles light sources, but that didn't resolve the issue either.

Since the problem began after installing the Creation Kit, which overwrites the Skyrim.ini and SkyrimPrefs.ini files, I suspect there might be a setting in those files that could fix the problem. However, after checking the mod pages on Nexus, I didn’t find any information regarding changes to the .ini files. It’s a really strange bug, and despite spending hours researching online, I haven’t been able to find a solution :(

[isomorphic_projection]

Put these 3 lines in enbseries.ini to false.

[EFFECT]
EnableComplexParallaxShadows=false
EnableComplexTerrainParallaxShadows=false
EnableComplexMaterial=false

Last line relates to.

[COMPLEXMATERIAL]
IgnoreWeatherSystem=true
IgnoreWeatherSystemInterior=true

[Nabinkemper]

Not necessarily related to your issue but, before loading Creation Kit, make a backup of your INI files (skyrim.ini, Skyrimprefs.ini).

The Kit has a tendency of messing with the files after closing the program. Replacing the messed with files with the backups corrects this.

[Hloddoviko Adalbert]

Originally posted by isomorphic_projection:

Put these 3 lines in enbseries.ini to false.

[EFFECT]
EnableComplexParallaxShadows=false
EnableComplexTerrainParallaxShadows=false
EnableComplexMaterial=false

Last line relates to.

[COMPLEXMATERIAL]
IgnoreWeatherSystem=true
IgnoreWeatherSystemInterior=true

I don't use ENB features, but rather Community Shaders.

[Hloddoviko Adalbert]

Originally posted by Nabinkemper:

Not necessarily related to your issue but, before loading Creation Kit, make a backup of your INI files (skyrim.ini, Skyrimprefs.ini).

The Kit has a tendency of messing with the files after closing the program. Replacing the messed with files with the backups corrects this.

Yeah, I suspect it might be something related to the .ini files, but when I checked the Community Shaders page on Nexus, there was nothing mentioning any need to edit those files.

[isomorphic_projection]

Community shaders are full of bugs. And need to be adjusted anyway after. I do not use them. So i do not know how to fix the problem.

[Hloddoviko Adalbert]

Originally posted by isomorphic_projection:

Community shaders are full of bugs. And need to be adjusted anyway after. I do not use them. So i do not know how to fix the problem.

I believe the issue might be that the CK overwrote my .ini files. Now, I can’t figure out where to adjust my settings. I’ve checked Nexus and reviewed the descriptions of the mods I have, but I couldn’t find anything. Any ideas?

[Hloddoviko Adalbert]

Originally posted by Nabinkemper:

Not necessarily related to your issue but, before loading Creation Kit, make a backup of your INI files (skyrim.ini, Skyrimprefs.ini).

The Kit has a tendency of messing with the files after closing the program. Replacing the messed with files with the backups corrects this.

I’m almost certain this is the issue. I don’t have many lighting mods, and I’ve already reinstalled all possible ones. There’s probably a line in the .ini files that needs to be adjusted.

[PaPaKat]

i personaly dont use ELFX. i use RLO;AIO and it looks great and got rid of that constant glare and over brightness that i fought with and adjustable in game though MCM or a shout.

[Nabinkemper]

Originally posted by Hloddoviko Adalbert:

Originally posted by Nabinkemper:

Not necessarily related to your issue but, before loading Creation Kit, make a backup of your INI files (skyrim.ini, Skyrimprefs.ini).

The Kit has a tendency of messing with the files after closing the program. Replacing the messed with files with the backups corrects this.

I’m almost certain this is the issue. I don’t have many lighting mods, and I’ve already reinstalled all possible ones. There’s probably a line in the .ini files that needs to be adjusted.

I recommend using the following mod to manage your INI files.

https://www.nexusmods.com/site/mods/631

You will still want to keep a back up of the files (even the ones marked as 'backup' or 'baked').

For any who are also looking at this as a potential solution and don't know where the INI files are kept, these are at the following location -
Documents/My Games/Skyrim Special Edition

Note: This is also where your save files are stored.

[Hloddoviko Adalbert]

Just to clarify, it wasn't an issue with any mod. The Creation Kit literally messed up the lighting in the vanilla game! I had to uninstall and reinstall the game :')

[Ilja]

Originally posted by Hloddoviko Adalbert:

Just to clarify, it wasn't an issue with any mod. The Creation Kit literally messed up the lighting in the vanilla game! I had to uninstall and reinstall the game :')

Probably could have managed just by validating files?