This guide will demonstrate how to properly prune several groups of fruit trees, brambles and bushes. The first question you need to consider when starting to prune a crop is this: What year wood does it fruit on? Once this is established the techniques taught in this guide can be applied to other unique specialty crops not covered.  Always remember this rule of thumb, "When in doubt cut it all the way out!"  

General Pruing goals pertaining to all fruit crops are simply to manage these criteria:

• Cut out all Diseased, Dead, Damaged, Defective and Dumb wood First.
• Manage the tree or plant to keep it under control.  Start with cuting out larger branches3+ years old branches that are too close.  In general remove the older branch and give yield to the younger one.
• Allow sufficient air flow through the canapy to minimize disease and other biological vectors
• Allow sufficient light to penetrate each branch to produce fruiting buds the following season to encourage growth and production 
• 
• Remove all branches going straight up and those going down.  Ideal branch is either a main branch from the leader or a lateral branch between 30 and 60 degrees.  Keep in mind a 2 year old branch is yet to fruit and will bend from a 60 to a 30 with fruit weight.

Tree Fruit Pruning University Link

Explanation of fruiting wood?

Fruits borne on first year wood

Blueberries (1-6 but 1-4 best)

Cranberries

Grapes

Nectarines

Peaches

Fruits borne on second year wood

Apples

Apricots

Currants (2 and 3)

Gooseberries (2 and 3)

Pears

Plums

Sweet Cherries

Tart or Sour Cherries

Others not so clear

Brambles (new, 1 and 2)

Elderberries (new terminal, branched 2-3)

Figs (new, 1)

Once determining what year wood the plant fruits on you will need to get in the mindset to produce this wood and dont let yourself cut it off this year. It can be easy on apple to cut every branch back, which is often the problem when used in landscapes and pruned by a landscaper. They tend to shape a tree to look good. For fruit prodution we are not as concerned with it looking like a perfect sphere. So you have to let some branches grow and some branched get cut out completely. 

Visit the specific crop page to learn specificly how to prune.