airhead, I had the same question about my Roxio when I first got it, and then someone told me to go to the Roxio Project Selector, click on make a data CD, and then click on dataCD project. From there, you burn the photo cd just like a music cd. Just find where the pictures are in your hard drive, add them to the project and then record. You should be able to burn photo cd's this way, without having to pay for the upgrade. Hope this works for you!
Jennifer