removing leaves on bushy plant close to harvest?

So my girl is getting really really close to harvest , 2 weeks or so tops, and i've noticed from looking at alot of other peoples plants that are close to harvest time that almost all leaves are gone from the plant.
Is this natural?
I know and have seen first hand how the plant will suck the fan leaves and others dry as it flowers, but will it suck them ALL dry? or just some.
Plus the lower bud sites are a bit covered by foliage and removing the foliage for the last couple weeks could probably prove beneficial to the lower nodes.

In the end the question is would removing some of the foliage to allow lower bud sites to get light be beneficial? or would removing the leaves (which in essence are food producers for the plant) be more devastating than beneficial to the bud production process?
advice/comments always welcome. Thanks!

I'd also like to know the answer to this, although I'm willing to bet that people say not to remove the fan leaves

I pull my leaves when they turn yellow.But give it a try,or just cutt off the leaf,but not the leaf stem.

heres what dna says http://www.cannabis-seeds-bank.co.uk/dna-genetics-la-confidential/prod_226.html