How To Prune A Conifer.
Firstly if you cut any area back to dead or brown areas these will not regrow.So the way we prune conifers is to cut underneath in the case of spreading conifers and inside in the case of upright conifers.
In the case of upright follow the top stems back inside the conifer and cut back inside the plants structure,then inside tie the out side branches in to the central stems to draw them in to maintain the shape.