The lower branches on my red oak seem very low on the trunk. I've attached a couple of pictures. I would like advice on whether or not I should remove some of the lower branches, and how much. You can see in the picture I have a yard stick next to the trunk, and the first branches are less than a yard up.

You didn't share the city you're in, but in DFW, most of the pruning I've been seeing the past few years is way too high. I personally think your tree looks great the way it is, but I don't think it would hurt it to remove the lowest set of branches. I'd shy away from removing more than just the lowest level of branches in any one given year.

In Texas, we are at the end of the season when it's best to prune trees. My personal preference is to get the limbs off the trunks at least high enough so I can walk under them. It makes it a lot easier to mow. Your tree looks very healthy, so you can take that bottom set of limbs off now.

Just don't forget to undercut each limb before you chop it off, so you don't peel the bark off down the trunk!

Good luck!

I think it's a personal preference on how you want to trim your trees.

Personally, I'm over 6' tall, so yes, I would trim it. My Red oaks are trimmed high, but I am leaving lower limbs on the trees out by the road just for a little more privacy.