Bud pinching takes place between spring and summer. Bonsai artists will remove the ends of new soft buds growing during this time by pinching them off.
This is done to prevent the branches from growing too much and it will allow more delicate branches to grow. Through bud pinching, the tree may also grow with smaller leaves, which is important for the bonsai to feel like it scales correctly.

Bud pinching will take place between spring and summer. Bonsai artists will remove the ends of new soft buds growing during this time by pinching them off. This will make the branches and the leaves smaller and feel neater overall.
For trees in the cypress family like junipers and cedars, you will pinch off any new buds which break the shape of the tree.
For pine bonsai such as the Japanese white pine and Japanese black pine, new buds are only pinched off halfway. Artists will allow them to grow out in a balanced away.

Defoliation involves cutting off leaves that are either too big or reducing the number of leaves in certain areas of the tree.
Bud pruning involves cutting off any buds which have grown too long or are unneeded.
For leaf pruning, the artist will cut off parts of large leaves on deciduous bonsai.
All of these jobs are done to give the tree better access to sunlight and wind and to achieve a more balanced appearance for the bonsai. 

A bonsai artist will prune a bonsai to alter and maintain its shape.
They will cut off any uncomely branches, known as imi-eda.
Another reason they will prune a bonsai is alter the size and shape of its branches and foliage in order to give the tree better access to sunlight and wind.

After pruning the buds on trees like the Japanese red pine and Japanese black pine, a second set of buds will start to grow out from where the first buds were cut off.
If 4-6 buds start to grow out of one spot, the artist will cut them off again until there are only 2-3 left.
When the second set of buds has grown out and has a good set of foliage, the leaves from the previous year are removed. 
This process for trees like Japanese red pine and Japanese black pine is called tanyō-hō, meaning “short leaf method”.
Through tanyō-hō, a bonsai artist can increase the number of branches on the tree and keep the length of the branches and foliage short. 

A bonsai artist will use wiring to bend the trunk and branches in order to shape the tree.
There are two techniques involved, wrapping and pulling.
Wiring is also done when trying to make the buds and leaves of pines point upwards.

A bonsai artist will take a bonsai out of its pot (or other container) and replant it. 
Overgrown roots are untangled or cut, and the bonsai is planted together with new soil. By doing this, the bonsai artist can control the maintain the growth of the tree.
A bonsai artist may also repot the bonsai into a different pot or container than it was previously planted in.
When repotting outside of the best period to repot, it is important that the bonsai artist does not cut the roots too much.