I live in an area where you find lots of these beautiful plants: Camellias and azaleas. I recently attended a class in the azalea garden in the Norfolk botanical garden. This is what I learned, I hope it will also help you too.The time to prune camellias and azaleas is immediately after they finish blooming. With camellias, I don't need to be afraid. I can cut the bush down in size, but do it gracefully. Open up the plant, removing limbs if necessary so the air can blow through. Cut off any limbs that may touch the ground. Do not prune more than one-third of the plant at any one time so it may take a year or two to get the plant down to the size you want. I was surprised to learn that azaleas are pruned much the same way. Prune them harshly but gracefully and they'll bounce back. Do not shave them into squares or balls but cut out limbs down at ground level. Some folks cut them totally off at ground level; they throw out new growth from the roots. This free class was all worth it, I think.