BigVanVader, I either prune the leaf off very close to the stem, or grab it and pry upwards to snap it off, never pry downwards, it will leave a tear down the stalk. Keep in mind I mainly grow in greenhouses, about 25 percent of the sun UV is reduced, so sun scald is not a problem. I purposely expose the fruit to get it to ripen faster on the bottom of the plants. Outside plants, even up here, do need some shade until they blush.
I think pruning suckers off, and keeping the very bottom leaves cleaned off would help, just prune them as the fruit comes off a particular truss.
I even started cleaning up the determinates, inner leaf mess that is, there are plenty of leaves to spare, and it keeps disease from starting where air flow cannot penetrate the foliage. Production is going just fine on them also.
Good luck
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