pruning is a constant battle. I've messed with pinning and tying the leaves down to try and accomplish the same thing but this is just not ass effective as proper pruning. as stated don't do a full hatchet job but you need to get a little gory. no joke i pick days I'm in a bad mood to go prune. if I'm feeling too much empathy i will usually pussy foot around and take forever and not prune properly at the same time.
my technique is as follows
step one. in veg train the plant out wide and get you base. usually 2x2 foot for my set up. from there it becomes obvious the branches that are too long or the leaves that are just dicks taking all the light. remove those. the branches can just be cut down to size and will even out with the rest of the plant. the leaves just remove them. at this point i probably only remove 3-4 leaves per plant. very minimal pruning.
step 2. transition. the first 2 weeks of flower the plant will shoot up. throwing layer after layer of fan leaves that will block everything below it. I've messed with a few tactics here with similar results. I've heard that pruning leaves promotes stretching and I've also heard that pruning leaves stops stretching by allowing light to the lower portions and they continue to grow and keep pace with the upper portions exploding in new growth. i do minimal pruning in this stage. just enough to stop obvious light loss. usually all the leaves attached to the main stems are removed at this point. the ones with long ass stems and monster leaves. byebyebye.
step 3. flower. this is where you see who your all stars are. some branches just perform better then others. sometimes its a skinny one thats all noodle soft producing bigger buds then the main stems. other times its just the main stems rocking out. this stage is about a feeling, theres no science to it. you need to be able to look over your plant and see with your eyes which leaves are trouble makers. i usually only leave a 2-3 inch thick "canopy" at the bottom of the plants to block light to the bucket and prune back 80% of the non triched leaves near the top. not all but this stage is much more drastic than the others. buckets of leaves coming down per 4x4 area.
final stage. pre trim/hardening. usually about the time i start flushing i start pruning more and more. not all at once but over a few days just remove leaves as you in there starting at the bottom. this will give the plant more light for its final flush and I've eliminated popcorn from my grow doing this. sounds drastic but well worth it if your trying to maximize yield.
the majority of the plants life it has a majority of its leaves. I've tried several of the "all natural" tactics floating around the web and even one very poplar fellers technique from this website. it will yield you a giant bushy nightmare to trim of popcorn nugs. were aren't leave farmers. we aren't stem farmers. if the fruit is the goal and increasing fruit size and potency is the goal then leaves can be a hindrance rather than a help sometimes. its unnatural to grow in hydroponics does that work? its not natural to grow under indoor lights does that work? its not natural to use minerals in their raw forms rather then broke down by bacteria, does that work? yes to all three of these things. we aren't natural shepards of the land. we are medical caregivers trying to grow buds. thats a different game then guiding a plant through the most natural life cycle possible. we gotta dance with our ladies and show dem de way sometimes.
edited to add one of my favorite artists to listen too while pruning.. just gets you in the mood to tear some leaves off.
no more embedded youtube? (Second edit)
never mind just link to it lol (third edit)